A Fox News guest suggested that the tear gas being used on migrants at the border is so 'natural' you could 'put it on your nachos'
- Ron Colburn, president of the Border Patrol Foundation, defended the use of tear gas on migrants at the US-Mexico border on Monday.
- He said the tear gas was "natural" and said "you could actually put it on your nachos and eat it."
- Videos and photos posted to social media on Sunday showed US border authorities firing tear gas at migrants at the border near San Ysidro, California.
A "Fox and Friends" guest downplayed the use of tear gas against migrants at the US-Mexico border on Monday, saying that the spray is "natural" and could be put on nachos.
President of the Border Patrol Foundation and former Border Patrol deputy, Ron Colburn, said that using tear gas against the migrants on Sunday was "absolutely" warranted.
"To clarify, the type of deterrent being used is OC pepper spray," Colburn told "Fox and Friends" co-host Steve Doocy. "It's literally water, pepper with a small amount of alcohol for evaporation purposes. It's natural. You could actually put it on your nachos and eat it. So it's a good way of deterring people without long-term harm."
Oleoresin Capsicum spray, also known as OC pepper spray, contains an oily resin derived from chili peppers at a high concentration, according to Medical News Today.
A report from The International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO) and Physicians for Human Rights found that OC sprays may contain toxic chemicals that make its side affects harder to treat.
Colburn wasn't questioned about his claim, as Doocy continued to speak about the tear gas.
"It looks like [Mexican officials] are trying to review videotape and figure out who some of these people were who stormed the border and they're going to deport them back to their country of origin," Doocy said.
The migrants attempting to enter the United States are members of the so-called migrant caravan, which President Donald Trump criticized in the weeks leading up to the midterm elections.
Trump has sent thousands of US troops to the border in an attempt to block the migrants from entering the United States.
Videos and photos posted to social media on Sunday showed US border authorities firing tear gas at members of the migrant caravan after the group left a makeshift shelter in Tijuana to head for San Ysidro, the largest port of entry on the southern US border.