Janet Napolitano comments on tear gas usage.

University of California (UC) President Janet Napolitano attended an alumni event on November 27, 2018, organized by University of California, DC office. The event was hosted at a UC-owned building in Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington DC; this UC Washington Center has student housing, and hosts extension classes for UC students. The event was attended by graduates of all UC campuses, and included a discussion with Ms. Napolitano. While addressing current events, Janet Napolitano, who served as a United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2009 to 2013, commented that in her five years as a Secretary, she does not remember border patrol agents using tear gas once against foreign civilians. Her comments come after the tear gas was used against potential asylum seekers, which included women and children, at US southern border in San Ysidro. US Customs and Border Protection claims that tear gas was used under Obama administration on dozens of occasions; but the scale of use and the circumstances were not clarified.

Ms. Napolitano also urged a two-pronged approach to de-escalate tensions at the border. US should relocate more immigration judges to the southwestern border, so that asylum cases are addressed in an expedited manner. In addition, an external diplomatic pressure needs to be applied to the countries where these caravans originate, in order to allow people to exist peacefully where they were born.