Activists rally at Friendship Park to stop border wall construction

SAN DIEGO -- Dozens of people, musicians and folk dancers gathered in San Ysidro Sunday morning near the path to Friendship Park to protest the construction of a 30-foot border wall through the park.

Those present at the demonstration said that the wall through the park would destroy the connection between the U.S. and Mexico it provides -- from brief encounters between visitors to the international community the space has facilitated.

"(Friendship Park is) where people on both sides of the border are able to share community together," said Andrea Lorera, a U.S. resident and Mexican native who traveled from Los Angeles for Sunday's rally.

Friendship Park is a historic binational park that spans about a half-acre along the southern border near San Diego. Inaugurated as a California State Park in 1971 by First Lady Pat Nixon, Friendship Park served as a meeting point between the two nations for decades.

The park was closed in 2019 for the Trump-era project to erect a 30-foot border wall along the southern U.S. border. However, construction has been held-up over the last few years, with Customs and Border ...