What began as a peaceful protest from hundreds of migrants at the southwestern United States border turned for the worst when an overwhelming number rushed at the border fence to illegally enter the country.

According to the CBP, migrants threw projectiles that struck several border patrol agents, though no agent was injured. Most likely done out of pure desperation, those attempting to storm the border said they are fleeing from persecution, poverty and violence in their home countries.

Because of this, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers were forced to shut down both the south and northbound traffic at the San Ysidro border crossing south of San Diego for nearly six hours. Furthermore, in even more defense, they began teargassing the migrants in order to push them back from the border’s fence.

While violence is unacceptable from both sides and the CBP has the obligation to defend our borders, what should be concerning is the fact that groups of men, women and children are risking their lives in hopes to find better realities free from persecution on U.S. soil. Seeking asylum is not a crime and this country has long been a safe haven for those in danger.

But what is more alarming is that U.S. officials resorted to using tear gas. Banned in warfare yet used to dismantle protests, the teargassing left migrants choking and gagging in anguish, with photographs surfacing of even children, including babies and toddlers, fleeing from the swirling cloud, sobbing and in pain.

Officials and authorities in the Trump Administration responded by saying they needed to show force after the migrants had rushed to the border. However, force can be expressed in a different manner. The Reuters photos showing children running are horrendous, with one of a little barefoot girl in only her diaper and t-shirt, weeping as she bolts with her mother, particularly despicable. The little girl was running from the tear gas and from a country that has effectively told her that her safety is not important.

Tear gas is an aerosol compound. It was first used by France in WWI to lure enemy soldiers out of trenches and caused everything from difficulty breathing to temporary blindness, according to the University of Kansas Medical Center. It is particularly harmful to kids.

Today, it is considered a chemical weapon and nearly every nation on Earth, including the U.S., has outlawed it in warfare, according to The Washington Post. However, it is still permitted as a riot-control agent. That doesn’t make it right.

Yes, force was needed, but was pitting even children against a substance considered too diabolical for war appropriate? Absolutely not.

The migrants are not enemy soldiers. They are asylum seekers. Be they men, women or children, they are frightened for their lives and teargassing them as if they are democracy’s enemy is not what this country stands for.