At the US border, a gassy migrant mother states that there were children

TIJUANA, Mexico:

A photographed migrant mother ran with her daughters in search of tear gas on the US-Mexican border she did not expect the US Border Patrol to pull gas cylinders on children and families.

After traveling from northern Honduras and spending a week in the border town of Tijuana, Mexico, Maria Meza, 35, left on Sunday with her five children. application for asylum at the US border post.

She and hundreds of other Central American migrants were stranded by Mexican police and staged a protest at the border, some rushing against the American fence.

Three bottles of tear gas fired The US side landed around Meza and her children, ranging from young children to teenagers, she said in an interview at a migrant shelter from Tijuana.

"The first thing I did was grab my kids," said Meza. A photo of her, shaking hands with Saira and Cheili, two five-year-old twin girls, alongside her 13-year-old daughter, Jamie, is now viral and has provoked angry reactions from some lawmakers and organizations. Charitable.

I was scared and I thought I was going to die with them because of gas, "said Meza.

His young son, James, nearly died. fainting when a cartridge landed near him, Meza fell and struggled to get up in the middle of the gas, a young man held out his hand and lifted it up.

"We never thought they would shoot these bombs where he there were children, because there were many children, "said Meza sitting at the sight of the

" This was not ok, they know we are human beings, like them ", said Meza.

The US Department of Homeland Security said that US customs and border protection officials were struck by projectiles thrown by the migrants.

About 5,200 people who traveled in a caravan through Mexico are packed in a stadium shelter in Tijuana, in makeshift tents.

President Donald Trump has taken a firm stand against migrants who have left the north from violent and impoverished Central American countries. On Monday, he said Mexico should send them back to their country of origin.

The US Border Patrol stated that most of the people gathered at the border were economic migrants who could not claim asylum.

"I came here for a reason, and that's because there's a lot of violence in Honduras," said Meza, while her kids were playing with empty tear gas cans pulled by the Border Patrol.

The United States closed the crossing point for several hours on Sunday and threatened by Trump to close the border entirely.

"If they close the border, I ask God to open doors for us here, in Tijuana or in another country, to allow me to survive with my children," Meza said.

(With the exception of the title, this story has not been altered by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)