The top Border Patrol official in San Diego, Calif., on Monday said his federal agents had to use tear gas against members of a migrant group because they assaulted law enforcement personnel while trying to break through the barrier.

“When the threat is to our personnel or to protect others, you gotta do what you gotta do,” San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Rodney Scott told CNN about migrants’ weekend attempt to storm the border near the San Ysidro port of entry. “What we saw over and over yesterday is that the group, the caravan as we call them, would push women and children to the front and then begin basically rocking our agents.”