Border Sheriffs Equip Less-Lethal Weapons to Manage Migrant Crowds

Sheriff departments along the United States southern border have been equipping personnel with less-lethal weapons to address the challenge of managing large crowds of migrants at crossing points. This operational shift reflects broader emergency management and law enforcement planning efforts designed to provide deputies with proportionate, graduated response options for high-volume crowd situations.

Background and Context

Border counties in states including Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California face unique emergency management challenges that combine law enforcement, humanitarian response, and public safety functions. During periods of elevated migration, the volume of individuals crossing in a relatively short timeframe can exceed the capacity of standard processing facilities and the available response personnel of county sheriffs' offices.

Large gatherings near border entry points — whether at official ports of entry awaiting processing or at unauthorized crossing locations — present crowd management challenges that require coordinated responses from county law enforcement, federal Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, state law enforcement, and local emergency managers. When groups become agitated or when incidents occur within crowds, deputies must have tools available that allow for a measured response without escalating to lethal force.

Less-Lethal Options in Border Operations

Less-lethal weapons provide law enforcement with an intermediate use-of-force option when verbal commands and presence fail to maintain order but lethal force is not warranted. For border county deputies, commonly deployed less-lethal tools include:

• Oleoresin capsicum (OC) / pepper spray: Effective for close-range crowd dispersal, causing temporary incapacitation without permanent injury when used as directed.
• Rubber projectiles and bean bag rounds: Fired from standard or specialty launchers, these rounds can stop or redirect individuals at greater range than chemical agents.
• Conducted energy devices (CEDs): Devices such as TASERs allow deputies to temporarily incapacitate a specific individual within a crowd without widespread effect on surrounding persons.
• Crowd management munitions: Specialty rounds designed for wide-area deterrence, including noise-generating and smoke-producing devices used to encourage crowd movement.

Each category of less-lethal tool requires dedicated training, clear departmental policy, and documented chain of custody. Sheriffs who have invested in expanding less-lethal capabilities cite the need to protect both deputies and the individuals in crowds from harm that can occur when a situation escalates to physical confrontation.

Emergency Management Role in Border Incidents

For county emergency managers in border areas, large-scale migration events require the same structured planning and coordination as any mass casualty or mass gathering incident. Under the National Incident Management System (NIMS), these events may warrant activation of an Incident Command Post and coordination with state emergency management agencies to request mutual aid and access additional resources.

Emergency managers in border counties are responsible for maintaining resource inventories that account for the logistical demands of extended border incidents, including:

• Medical personnel and first aid supplies for injuries sustained during crowd management operations
• Water, food, and sanitation resources for large numbers of individuals in temporary holding areas
• Communication interoperability between sheriff's deputies, CBP, state police, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
• Public information protocols for communicating with media and the public about ongoing operations
• Coordination with Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) for humanitarian support

Federal Funding and Support Mechanisms

Border county emergency managers and sheriffs have access to several federal funding streams that support both law enforcement capacity and emergency management preparedness for border-related incidents. Operation Stonegarden, a component of the Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP), specifically funds overtime, equipment, and operational costs for border law enforcement activities.

The Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) program provides annual funding to support local emergency management offices, including staff, training, and planning activities. Border counties that can document the emergency management implications of migration events may be able to justify higher levels of EMPG allocation.

FEMA Region 6 covers Oklahoma and the border states of Texas and New Mexico, and provides technical assistance, planning support, and exercise coordination to help regional emergency management agencies prepare for the full spectrum of hazards, including complex border incidents.

Training and Use-of-Force Policy

The acquisition of less-lethal weapons represents only one component of a comprehensive border crowd management strategy. Equally important is the development of clear use-of-force policies, mandatory training for every deputy authorized to carry less-lethal tools, and after-action review processes following any deployment.

State peace officer standards and training (POST) commissions typically set minimum certification requirements for less-lethal weapons. Departments seeking to expand their capabilities must ensure that all personnel complete the required training before deployment and that supervisors are trained to authorize and document use-of-force incidents in accordance with policy.

The integration of less-lethal weapons into border operations also requires attention to the broader incident command structure. Deputies equipped with these tools should be integrated into unified command structures with CBP and state law enforcement to prevent conflicting directives and ensure accountability for every use-of-force incident that occurs during a border operation.

Best Practices for Border Emergency Management

Emergency management professionals and sheriffs in border counties have identified several practices that improve outcomes during high-volume migration events:

• Pre-event planning: Develop and exercise specific annexes in county emergency operations plans (EOPs) that address mass migration events, including triggers for mutual aid requests and media protocols.
• Interagency coordination: Establish regular coordination meetings with CBP, state law enforcement, public health, social services, and non-governmental organizations before incidents occur.
• Situational awareness: Monitor CBP encounter data and Border Patrol sector reports to anticipate surges and pre-position resources before capacity is overwhelmed.
• De-escalation training: Supplement less-lethal weapons training with comprehensive de-escalation and crisis intervention training to minimize the situations in which force becomes necessary.
• After-action reviews: Conduct structured after-action reviews following major incidents to identify lessons learned and incorporate improvements into plans and training.

This article is for informational purposes, providing an emergency management perspective on border security operations. Emergency managers seeking specific guidance should consult their State Emergency Management Agency and FEMA Region 6 representatives.