Editor’s Note: Friends of Friendship Park originally published the following immediate release on Monday, March 31, 2025.
BREAKING: U.S. TROOPS INSTALLING RAZOR WIRE AT HISTORIC PARK ON US-MEXICO BORDERĀ
ACTIVE-DUTY MARINES WORKING AT THE SITE MEANT TO CELEBRATE THE FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THE U.S. AND MEXICO
March 31, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Daniel Watman, Program Director, Friends of Friendship Park (Eng/Esp)
1-619-335-3176, dan@friendshippark.org
Tania Mendoza, Mexico-side Community Organizer (Eng/Esp)
WhatsApp: +52-664-477-6405
Active-duty United States marines are installing rolls of razor wire reaching 8-feet high at the base of border walls at Friendship Park, the historic cross-border meeting place at the western end of the US-Mexico border.Ā At 10:30 am this morning, troops told community members they had been ordered to install razor wire even across the footprint of the cross-border Friendship Garden, a landmark feature of Friendship Park that once straddled the international boundary.Ā Ā (SEE PHOTOS BELOW)
The installation of razor wire represents an unannounced abandonment of prior commitments made by U.S. federal officials. Ā In December 2024, Customs and Border Protection Commission Troy Miller pledged in writing to resume regular public access to the federal land at Friendship Park ā and to replant the cross-border Friendship Garden ā āfollowing the completion of construction activities.ā The December 2024 letter does not mention the inclusion of razor wire as part of the construction project. (READ THE LETTER)
Beginning in 2023 and continuing through year-end 2024, federal contractors had replaced existing infrastructure at Friendship Park with two new 30-foot walls. There was no mention of razor wire in the years of federal communication with community leaders that preceded the construction of the new walls.
āU.S. authorities should stick to their pledge, remove all razor wire at Friendship Park, and replant the cross-border garden,” said Daniel Watman, Program Director of the Friends of Friendship Park, a local nonprofit organization.
The site known by locals in San Diego and Tijuana as āFriendship Park” or “El Parque de la Amistad” has been celebrated by media from across both the U.S. and Mexico as symbol of cross-border collaboration and friendship. It has also been embraced by extended families whose members span the international boundary as a safe place for longed-for family reunions.
āUS authorities have no regard for the well-being of families who have used the park peacefully for decades,ā said Tania Mendoza, a community organizer and deported mother of a U.S. citizen daughter.Ā “Why is our Park being treated as if families like mine donāt matter?ā
Friendship Park sits atop Monument Mesa, and on the U.S. side lies within the bounds of California’s Border Field State Park, which was inaugurated by First Lady Pat Nixon on August 18, 1971. On that occasion, the State Park was presented as a first phase in creating āInternational Friendship Park.” (WATCH the 2-min VIDEO) In 2006, the US federal government seized property adjacent to the border by eminent domain, in order to erect border walls.
āThe new 30-foot walls at Friendship Park are a standing offense to the peoples of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands,ā said John Fanestil, Executive Director of the Friends of Friendship Park. āInstead of adding the insult of razor wire to the injury of these walls, US authorities should be working with us to create a truly international park at this location. Friendship Park should be a shining symbol of the simple truth that the United States and Mexico are friends, not enemies.”
March 31, 2025 — U.S. troops install razor wire at Friendship Park. In the background, razor wire can be seen already installed along the base of the interior wall at Friendship Park. (View: looking east. Photo: Tania Mendoza)
March 31, 2025 — U.S. troops install razor wire at Friendship Park. In the background, razor wire can be seen already installed along the base of the interior wall at Friendship Park. (View: looking east. Photo: Tania Mendoza)
March 31, 2025 — Razor wire installed along the base of the “primary wall,” which sits precisely on the international boundary at Friendship Park. (View: Looking west. Photo: Tania Mendoza)
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