Science Vs What Do Tear Gas and ICE Raids Do to People?
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Jan 29, 2026 
William Lopez, clinical associate professor researching mental-health and physical impacts of immigration enforcement. Carlee Toddes, neuroscientist who studies how pain receptors react to chemicals. Jennifer Brown, neuroscientist and legal scholar investigating tear gas health effects. They discuss how tear gas affects the body, what we know about long-term harms, ways to reduce exposure, and how immigration raids shape community health and safety.
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On-The-Ground Protester Experience
- T described waking to helicopters and honking then seeing a protester killed nearby, which made him feel the city was like a war zone.
- He said tear gas clouds, coughing, vomiting, and people losing visibility were common at protests in Minneapolis.
War Chemicals Repurposed For Policing
- Tear gas evolved from wartime chemical agents repurposed for domestic crowd control after chemical weapon bans in war.
- The U.S. bans chemical weapons in war but permits similar agents for policing, creating a regulatory gap.
Tear Gas Is An Aerosolized Chemical Mix
- 'Tear gas' is an umbrella term for aerosolized solids mixed with other chemicals and accelerants to disperse them.
- These aerosols create large clouds that can cover multiple city blocks and are hard to outrun.