U.S. Customs and Border Protection is pausing a project in California’s Friendship Park to negotiate with U.S. and Mexican locals who want assurance they will be allowed continued access to the park.
The halted Department of Homeland Security plans, announced in May, called for new primary and secondary walls through the park, located along the southern border in the region of San Diego and the Mexican border city of Tijuana. The new plans did not include a gate on the northern wall to allow for public access to the border barrier, where binational families get a chance to meet face to face, according to NBC San Diego.
“We have heard concerns about the project as currently planned, and it is important to me to be responsive to the local community on this issue,” CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said in a statement. “I look forward to continued conversations with the community regarding this project during the pause.”
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Friends of Friendship Park, a group of people protesting to have unrestricted access to the area, had asked to pause construction for 120 days, though CBP has not clarified how long its pause on the project will last.
Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA), whose district includes Friendship Park, praised the CBP’s decision to pause the project, calling it “a welcome step in the right decision.”
“Since its inauguration in 1971, Friendship Park has been a testament to the U.S.-Mexico relationship and has allowed families to come together,” Vargas said. “The proposed projects would bar public access to Friendship Park, preventing it from serving communities on both sides of the border. This is a welcome step in the right direction, and I urge CBP to work with federal, state, and local governments and community stakeholders as they move forward in preserving access to Friendship Park.”
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In June, the total number of migrants attempting to cross the border was 207,416, a 14% decrease from the previous month, according to CBP. At the San Diego-Tijuana border crossing, a total of 63,000 people cross back and forth every day, according to the Smart Border Coalition.
