ACROSS THE LINES - Archive (2006-2020)

Published on San Diego News Network , August 10, 2009 Earlier this spring President Obama urged an enthusiastic crowd of university students in Istanbul, Turkey to “build new bridges instead of new walls” around the world. I’m guessing Mr. Obama avoided this rhetorical flourish during his visit this week to Mexico. After all, as he sat down in Guadalajara with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, contractors for the Department of Homeland Security were putting the finishing touches on 670 miles of double barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. Right here in San Diego border walls now cut through the Tijuana Estuary , an internationally-recognized coastal preserve, and prohibit public access to Friendship Park , a historic venue where for decades residents of the two nations have gathered peaceably at the international boundary. And in eastern San Diego County, DHS contractors are blasting their way through the Otay Mountain Wilderness to build

Distributed to the Friends of Friendship Park , March, 2009 My new friend, who works for the Border Patrol, resists my use of the word “wall” to describe the vast system of barriers being erected along the length of the U.S.-Mexico border. He would prefer that I – and others who oppose current U.S. border policy – talk about the barriers by referring to them as “tactical infrastructure.” Here is a picture of Jill Holslin standing in front of the second barrier that cuts across several miles of the San Diego-Tijuana urban corridor. PLEASE NOTE: This is Not a Wall And here is a picture, taken from the top of the metal fence that marks the international boundary, of the second barrier that now spans the western-most 3.5 miles of the border. This barrier cuts through the Tijuana Estuary and Border Field State Park at a distance ranging from 150 feet to 800 feet north of the border: PLEASE NOTE: This is Not a Wall Finally, here is a line of vehicles and Border Patrol agents t

Posted to Friends of Friendship Park , Monday, Feb 23, 2009 On Saturday I was almost arrested for committing assault with a tortilla. Or was it my communion cup that Customs and Border Protection agents perceived to be a threat to the national security of the United States? The setting was Friendship Park, a historic venue on the U.S.-Mexico border, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. For generations people from the two nations have met at this location to visit with friends and family through the border fence. As part of its commitment to build 670 miles of double and triple barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, the Department of Homeland Security is building a second wall across Friendship Park. On December 23, 2008, Customs and Border Protection declared the site a construction zone. On January 6, 2009 CBP released final design plans for the park and announced that these plans would allow for no public access to this unique site. We, who are aficionados of the park, were stunned