Friendship Park (San Diego–Tijuana)
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Friendship Park is a binational park located along the
United States-Mexico border United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
in the
San Diego–Tijuana San Diego–Tijuana is an international transborder agglomeration, straddling the border of the adjacent North America, North American coastal cities of San Diego, California, United States, and Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The 2020 popula ...
region. Located within the larger
Border Field State Park Border Field State Park is a state park of California, United States, containing beach and coastal habitat on the Mexico–United States border. The park is within the city limits of Imperial Beach in San Diego County, next to the suburb of Play ...
in California's
San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...
, the half-acre () park includes the border fence dividing the two countries, where residents of both countries can meet in person. The park is the only place along the border that is operated by the US and Mexico as a meeting area. To the south is
Playas de Tijuana Playas de Tijuana ( Spanish for "beaches of Tijuana") is the westernmost borough of the municipality of Tijuana, Baja California, stretching from the United States border in the north to Rosarito Beach Municipality in the south. The Bullring by ...
, Baja California, Mexico, and to the north is the
Tijuana River Estuary The Tijuana Estuary (or Tijuana River Estuary) is an intertidal coastal wetland at the mouth of the Tijuana River in San Diego County, California, United States, bordering Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. It is the location of Tijuana River Natio ...
and
Imperial Beach, California Imperial Beach is a beach city in San Diego County, California, United States, with a population of 26,137 as of the 2020 census. It is in the South Bay area of San Diego County, south of downtown San Diego and northwest of downtown Tiju ...
, United States; the west side opens to the beach and the Pacific Ocean. On the U.S. side, the park used to be part of the Monument Mesa picnic area but is now wholly located on federal property under the Department of Homeland Security and is heavily monitored by the U.S. Border Patrol 24 hours a day.


History

The park was inaugurated in 1971 by
Pat Nixon Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon (; March 16, 1912 – June 22, 1993) was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974 as the wife of President Richard Nixon. She also served as the Second ladies and gentlemen of the United States, second lady ...
(the then
first lady of the United States First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is a title typically held by the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never been Code of law, codified or offici ...
), and originally people from both nations celebrated the concept and it became a community hub for bi national activities. In the 1990s and 2000s the casual nature of the border deteriorated, and the park became more tightly controlled fenced in area where people enter the park under supervision. It remained an important binational meetup area, the only one along the entire border. By the 2010s it was open for short times and limited to finger touches through a mesh fence, but it was possible to have face-to-face conversations through the fence. In the late 2010s and 2020s, access was further restricted due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and construction work. It was home to binational garden for many years, but this was lost during the wall renovation in the early 2020s. Periodic security and maintenance issues have led to park closures, and the park is currently closed while the renovation work is completed. In 2022, the U.S. approved the construction of replacement walls, but announced soon after plans for the construction had been put on hold. In January 2023, it was announced that construction would proceed and much of the work was completed by 2024, but it has not reopened yet.


History

In the 1850s, in the aftermath of the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
, a joint commission from the United States and Mexico erected a pyramidal
statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...
on a beachside bluff south of what is today
Imperial Beach, California Imperial Beach is a beach city in San Diego County, California, United States, with a population of 26,137 as of the 2020 census. It is in the South Bay area of San Diego County, south of downtown San Diego and northwest of downtown Tiju ...
to mark the initial boundary point between Mexico and the United States. ;Inauguration On August 18, 1971, the surrounding area in the United States was inaugurated as a California State Park by First Lady
Pat Nixon Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon (; March 16, 1912 – June 22, 1993) was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974 as the wife of President Richard Nixon. She also served as the Second ladies and gentlemen of the United States, second lady ...
. Celebrating the first phase of what was envisioned as "International Friendship Park," Mrs. Nixon declared, "I hope there won't be a fence too long here." For the inauguration of the park, Nixon had the wire fence removed and people from both sides could hang out and they greeted each other and exchanged autographs. For decades friendship park was the epicenter of binational friendships and community, with a retrospective article in the Colombia Political Review noting, "In its early decades, the spirit of community was omnipresent. Families from both sides of the border filled Friendship Park, picnicking, surfing, and enjoying the park’s ocean views. Visitors from Mexico would venture to Imperial Beach, San Diego, for soccer matches, and beachgoers would wander from San Diego to Playas de Tijuana for tacos." Until 1994, there was only a simple barbed wire fence, and Americans and Mexicans could meet on the border under the supervision of the U.S. Border Patrol. Various social events have taken place in this park, including yoga classes, religious services, weddings, dances and baptisms. ;Operation Gatekeeper wall In 1994, amidst widespread fear of illegal immigration in the area, a was constructed on the border between San Diego and Tijuana as part of Operation Gatekeeper, including one in Friendship Park. Border security was tightened in the 1990s and again after the September 11 terrorism attacks in 2001. During that time, people on opposite sides of the border were still able to touch and pass objects through the barrier. In 2009, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security closed down Friendship Park and a second parallel fence was created which stretches into the Pacific Ocean that includes barbed wires, sensors, and surveillance cameras. A border patrol access road was also created, along with a third of steel bars. In late 2011 and early 2012, the "Surf Fence" Project replaced the old bars that form a barrier on the beach and extended it into the ocean. In 2011, mesh was added to the wall, limiting contact to finger tip touches. The fence dividing the two countries had a thick, dense steel mesh that is difficult to see through and only allowed the touching of fingertips. In 2012, under pressure from the public and activist groups, the federal government agreed to reopen the park with an outer perimeter fence blocking access to the public except when permitted by the U.S. Border Patrol, which controls access to the park. ;Children's Day events 2013–2017 At the private request of the humanitarian organization Border Angels, the U.S. government allowed a gate in the fence at Friendship Park to be opened briefly on Children's Day, a holiday celebrated in April in Mexico. The first such event took place in 2013, and it was repeated in 2015 and 2016. Border Patrol officers lifted a steel girder that locks a solitary gate in the fence from the U.S. side. Children and adults from a small number of pre-selected families divided by the border were allowed to meet and embrace briefly. San Diego Customs Border Protection (CBP) Sector chief Rodney Scott announced in April 2018 that the door opening event would no longer be allowed to take place. The reason for this decision was that Border Angels founder Enrique Morones had arranged for a wedding to take place, and the groom was a convicted, major drug smuggler. Border Patrol agents attended the wedding, which received widespread local, national and international media coverage. This was a great embarrassment for the San Diego CBP sector command. The Children's Day event is no longer being allowed, and it did not change the terms of access for the thousands of families who visit Friendship Park each year for the purpose of reuniting with their families. ;Covid and wall replacement project The Park was closed completely when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, before that the park would open on weekends on a regular schedule. In 2021, the 50th anniversary of the opening of the friendship park was remembered, and there was overall a push to make the area a nicer area. One idea was to expand the park to 40 acres on the USA side to make it more inviting, and enable people to have international hugs again. In 2022, the
Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
administration approved a Trump-era project to complete a section of the border wall. In August, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agreed to pause plans for a double border wall that critics say would effectively destroy the park. In response to concerns, they announced in January 2023 that the , which are more difficult to see through than current material, would dip to for a small section. The Mexican Navy guarded the gap between old and new walls during construction on the Mexican side. The old wall had colorful murals on the Mexican side, and many of these sections were preserved during the wall renovation by a collaboration between a museum and art activists. The overall design of the new wall integrated local feedback and border security standards. One loss was the binational garden was destroyed during the construction process, but there is plans for a new landscaped in the park for the area that may include walkway down to the ocean, landscaped plants, seating, and touch areas although the final design is not decided. By mid-2024, much of the work on the new walls was completed, but there was still work to do on the park, and it remains closed. Artists have already started to add new murals on replacement wall in 2024 on the south.


Access and locality

The Park is on the U.S. side of the border, and is fenced on both sides and east, but on the west side it opens to the Pacific Ocean. On the USA side is Border Field State Park, and on the Mexican Side is Playas de Tijuana. However, because the US side is more of nature reserve and on the opposite side of the Tijuana river estuary, which has its outflow on the USA side, the Mexican side of the park has more people as its northwest corner of Mexican city of Tijuana. The binational garden included landscaped plant beds on both sides of border and inside Friendship park. The beds were in circles, and each bed had a theme; plant beds included the Mirror Garden, the Yellow Flower Garden, and Cactus Garden. The beds were linked by a flowing bed of White Sage River (''Salvia Apiana''). The gardens were lost on the U.S. side during the wall replacement in the early 2020s.


U.S. side

To access the USA side, entry is through the
Border Field State Park Border Field State Park is a state park of California, United States, containing beach and coastal habitat on the Mexico–United States border. The park is within the city limits of Imperial Beach in San Diego County, next to the suburb of Play ...
, and then there is a pedestrian trail or road. The walk is about 1.8 miles, but in both cases travel can be disrupted if the Tijuana river floods, which can damage the trail or make the road impassable. In the 2010s, the U.S. Border Patrol allowed public access to the park on Saturdays and Sundays between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Visitors to the park must first enter Border Field State Park on Monument Road either by vehicle or, if vehicle access is closed, by foot for to reach the park at Monument Mesa. Border Patrol may limit access to the number of visitors allowed in the park and may check IDs. No item can be passed through the fence and doing so is a customs violation. The access was stopped in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to the park may be discontinued according to the 2022-approved project to build a new wall that would not include gates for pedestrian access. The replacement wall does have gates for access as of 2024. As of 2024, the park is still closed; there are concerns about its reopening date.


Mexico side

South of the border is
Playas de Tijuana Playas de Tijuana ( Spanish for "beaches of Tijuana") is the westernmost borough of the municipality of Tijuana, Baja California, stretching from the United States border in the north to Rosarito Beach Municipality in the south. The Bullring by ...
, which is on the northwest corner of the city of Tijuana. The wall is open to public access and is painted with colorful murals. Playas de Tijuana includes the Mexican landmarks including the Tijuana Lighthouse and Bullring, but also the U.S.-Mexican border monument is now only accessible on the Mexican side. U.S. Border Marker 258 is popular attraction on the Mexican side, and is white marble stone with inscriptions dating to the 19th century. (see Border marker #258) In 2023, a preserved section of the Berlin wall was put on display at the border on the Mexican side.


Advocacy

Former First Lady Mrs. Nixon was one of the original advocates of the park, believing in the friendship between the two nations, and hoped the park would be a place people from the two countries could make friends with each other. Friends of Friendship Park is an organization of community members working for unrestricted access to this historic border site. The organization works on behalf of many families who depend on the park to see their families and friends. Via International is a San Diego organization that supports social and environmental goals of the park area, and use to organize tours of the site before the pandemic.


See also

* Initial Point of Boundary Between U.S. and Mexico * Bullring by the Sea (south of the Friendship park in Mexico)


References


External links


Friends of Friendship ParkCPR - Friendship Park: The Eroding Promise of Binational Community at the U.S.–Mexico Border
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friendship Park (San Diego-Tijuana) Geography of San Diego–Tijuana Mexico–United States border Parks in San Diego County, California Parks in Mexico Tijuana