The Administration Is Treating the Border Like a War Zone—But It’s Violating the Laws of War
Even if you accept the Trump administration’s wrongheaded description of the border situation, its conduct is indefensible
By Neta C. Crawford
When it comes to establishing international boundaries, clear lines are essential — not only to demarcate the borders themselves, but to regulate the conduct of officials. When U.S. officials fired tear gas at asylum seekers on the other side of the U.S.-Mexico border, the U.S. blurred or crossed important moral boundaries.
U.S. officials also arguably bent or broke several principles of international law.
The first and most relevant international law in the case of people seeking asylum at the U.S. southern border is the 1967 Protocol to the Refugee Convention, which the U.S. ratified in 1968. Under the “supremacy clause” of the Constitution, once it ratifies such a treaty, the U.S. is bound by it.
Under the 1967 refugee protocol, people who claim refugee status who reach the border of a country that is party to the treaty — or who even enter that country — are allowed to apply for asylum and to have their claims judged. These people may or may not get to stay, but…
