Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday addressed the Trump administration's use of tear gas on migrants.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday defended the recent use of tear gas at the US-Mexico border, noting that the Obama administration did the same on numerous occasions. 
"Law enforcement officials have used appropriate, non-lethal force to protect themselves and prevent an illegal rush across the border. And let's also not forget this isn't the first time that non-lethal force like this has been used," Sanders said. "In fact, tear gas was used on average once a month during the Obama administration for very similar circumstances," she further noted. "In fact, they were actually for far less circumstances as they didn't have the same numbers in the mass rush that we're seeing in this caravan."  The Trump administration has faced a great deal of criticism for its use of the chemical agent since the release of pictures of children running to escape the tear gas thrown by US border agents.  CNN reports that Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen responded to the issue, saying in a statement on Monday: "It appears in some cases that the limited number of women and children in the caravan are being used by the organizers as 'human shields' when they confront law enforcement."  President Trump made a similar assertion that same day, stating: "They feel they have an advantage when they're with a young child, and they call them grabbers…They grab a child because when they have a child they feel a lot safer."