A new report reveals widespread misuse of crowd control weapons during anti-immigration protests across the United States, resulting in hundreds of lasting injuries. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley (HRC) documented 412 verified incidents from June 2025 through May 2026, with 203 injuries including blindings, traumatic brain injuries, lacerations, fractures, and contusions.
Scope of Misuse and Injuries
Dr. Rohini Haar, lead author and PHR medical expert, described the findings as concerning. Researchers struggled to confirm the full scale, noting that invisible injuries like chemical injury or chronic pain are difficult to assess visually. The true number of injuries is likely far greater, the report adds.
Over half of all misuse incidents—64%—involved Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Local law enforcement also played a role in many incidents, particularly in cities like Los Angeles.
Types of Weapons and Misuse Criteria
The weapons documented include chemical irritants (teargas, pepper spray, Mace), kinetic impact projectiles (rubber bullets, bean bag rounds), stun grenades, water cannon, and improvised weapons like horses and riot shields. Misuse was defined by targeting protected categories (journalists, health workers), affecting vulnerable populations (elderly, children), or improper use (close range, aiming at heads, violating manufacturing guidelines).
Key Incidents and Locations
Mass protests erupted in Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, Newark, and Portland, where over 90% of documented misuse occurred. In Newark, ICE officials pepper sprayed Senator Andy Kim during a protest outside the Delaney Hall detention center, making national news. Local and state officials also used batons, shields, and teargas, arresting dozens.
A ProPublica report earlier this year identified 70 children harmed by teargas or pepper spray during protests or immigration enforcement operations.
Link to Enforcement Surge Operations
The report found that misuse incidents spiked during enforcement surge operations under former Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who took a hardline approach. After the shooting deaths of two US citizens in Minneapolis by federal immigration officials, Bovino was removed and later retired in March 2026. PHR stated that in each city with federal directives to escalate enforcement, incident counts rose sharply within days, coinciding with Bovino's arrival.
Broader Context and Fatalities
Since January 2025, DHS immigration officials have been responsible for at least 11 shooting deaths. Two recent fatal shootings occurred in July 2026: ICE agents killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston on July 7, and a 26-year-old Colombian man was shot in Biddeford, Maine on July 12. The report draws parallels to law enforcement's response to the 2020 racial justice protests, where similar crowd control weapons were used extensively.
DHS did not respond to inquiries about the report's findings before publication.
