On Jan. 31, hundreds of families gathered at an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon, to protest immigration enforcement. Families say they were tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed, leaving them wheezing, coughing and struggling to breathe. ProPublica identified 79 children across the country who were harmed by tear gas or pepper spray as immigration officers increased the weapons’ use during President Donald Trump’s historic immigration crackdown. Some suffered breathing problems, vomiting, skin irritation and respiratory issues. One infant briefly stopped breathing after being exposed. There is no national standard that governs how law enforcement agencies use tear gas or pepper spray, allowing Department of Homeland Security officers to deploy chemical agents more freely in some cities than local police departments. Judges described the use of these “less lethal” weapons as excessive but had no power to curb them nationwide. We spoke with two brothers, ages 11 and 15, who attended the Jan. 31 protest and described being tear-gassed firsthand. Their family asked that we not use the children’s names to protect their privacy