Photo: John Moore/Getty Images
The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that it will resume construction required to replace the dilapidated border fence in the Friendship Park between Tijuana and San Diego, a place on the US-Mexico border that used to be a meeting place for immigrant families, in a statement.
CBP halted work on Friendship Park in August after activists protested the project because they did not view public access to the site as symbolic and important to US-Mexico relations.
The repairs included the construction of a 9-meter-tall (30-foot) double wall approved during the Donald Trump administration (2017-2021) in the park, where migrants used to gather with family and friends through the open spaces in the barrier that separates the US and Mexico.
CBP reported Tuesday that after analyzing public feedback and the conditions Border Patrol needs to operate, “an approach has been developed that meets border security needs while also addressing community feedback.”
The entity did not explain what modifications were made to the original project established by the Trump administration.
Once the construction is finished, CBP reported that it will give access to the park to visitors from the US side, which will allow them to meet their family and friends on the Mexican side.
Access to Parque de la Amistad will be coordinated with CBP through a gate in the secondary barrierduring designated time periods, once it is operationally safe to do so.
The agency has also committed to the restoration of the Binational Garden located within the Parque de la Amistad. The construction works are expected to be completed in six months.
The binational park has been closed since the coronavirus pandemic began and the construction plan proposed by the Trump Administration aimed to close it completely.
Friendship Park was inaugurated in 1971 by then First Lady Pat Nixon as a show of friendship between the American and Mexican peoples.
In 1993 the first wall was built in the area, however, the park remained as a meeting point for families, who could not cross the border.
Funds for the new barriers construction project were approved along with the border wall construction plan in 2018.
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