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UNITED STATES
SIDE
in English
THE MONUMENT
The Mesa you are standing on is called Monument Mesa because in the 1850’s, the first Border Monument was erected on the newly defined Border between Mexico and the United States. At that time, and continuing a centuries-long tradition for the local indigenous population, there was free and friendly movement of people across this area where previously there had been no Border. For generations, the Monument was known as a destination for tourists, for family reunions, for friendly meetups and peaceful, cross-border events. And in 1971, Border Field State Park was established and Friendship Park was inaugurated as a place for friends and family from both sides of the Border to gather. Unfortunately, over the next half-century, and especially during the past two decades, Border Patrol infrastructure and policies have increasingly restricted access to the Border wall and to Friendship Park.
Now, from the US side, you can no longer get to or even see the Monument that signifies the peace between these two nations. But -- as you can see from this aerial view -- the Monument is still there!
Right now people in Mexico are enjoying Friendship Park as it was intended to be enjoyed -- as a lively plaza, free and open to the public. Please be assured that there are good people on the other side of these two walls who would love to greet you in a spirit of peace and friendship.
Friendship Park as seen from atop the Lighthouse On the Mexican side (view is from south to north).
THE ENFORCEMENT ZONE
About 15 years ago, the U.S. federal government took a strip of land adjacent to the border from the State of California by eminent domain. This “enforcement zone” for U.S. Border Patrol lies between where you are standing, and the Mexican side of Friendship Park (no longer visible from the US).
The two 18-foot walls that define the enforcement zone are separated by more than 100 ft. Between the two walls, and straddling the “primary wall” (the wall farthest from where you are standing), is a binational plaza, designed in the shape of a circle, that is the heart of Friendship Park.
Even after these border walls were completed in 2011, people were permitted to pass through the gate in the “secondary wall” (the wall nearest to you) and access the international boundary in this space. As implied by the sign above the gate, these hours of public access in the United States were restricted to a few hours each weekend.
Thousands of families have reunited with loved ones at this historic location. Most are separated by immigration status, meaning some members of the family are unable to travel from the US to Mexico, while others are unable to secure a tourist visa to visit in the United States.
Now, since before the Pandemic, access is no longer allowed by the U.S. Border Patrol. Unaware that Friendship Park is closed, some families still travel to Monument Mesa, hoping to see their loved ones, only to be left waving and talking on the phone with each other from afar across the two walls.
Friendship Park as seen from atop the Lighthouse On the Mexican side (view is from south to north).
Friendship Park as seen from atop the Lighthouse On the Mexican side (view is from south to north).
THE BEACH
to the West of the Monument
Here at the Pacific Ocean is the only spot along the entire 1,954-mile southern border that touches an ocean. For decades, cross-border family barbecues and picnics on the beach were the norm. Even as recently as the early 2000’s, families could interact across the Border, as seen in this photograph:
Friendship Park as seen from atop the Lighthouse On the Mexican side (view is from south to north).
Now, on the US side, federal authorities have prohibited access to the international boundary on the beach for over a decade. They have lined the border wall on the beach (the “primary wall”) with barbed wire and razor coils. The chain link fence and traffic cones that extend from the “secondary wall” across the beach demarcate federal property. If you were to attempt to approach the border wall on the beach you would be run off by Border Patrol officials.
THE GARDEN
to the East of the Monument
The Binational Garden of Native Plants is the passion project of advocate and Friend of Friendship Park Dan Watman. Nature knows no borders, and the native flora of this region are no exception. Native Plants have graced this sliced-up space on both sides of the Border wall. Then, in 2020, a Border Patrol agent bulldozed the garden on the US side. After promising to make things right, the Border Patrol have neither provided the promised recompense nor even allowed access to tend the young plants. On the Mexican side, a slew of volunteers maintain the Garden and also grow vegetables that are often used for the weekly Sunday 2:00 p.m. community meal, offered by Via International and Casa de Luz.
Friendship Park as seen from atop the Lighthouse On the Mexican side (view is from south to north).
Friendship Park as seen from atop the Lighthouse On the Mexican side (view is from south to north).
THE BORDER CHURCH
The Border Church (“La Iglesia Fronteriza”) is a nonsectarian Christian ministry centered in the celebration of open-table communion on the U.S.-Mexico border. Since November 2011, people from both the United States and Mexico have gathered each Sunday afternoon to share communion at Friendship Park, if even from a distance.
The Border Church celebration begins at 1:30 pm each Sunday afternoon. Most Sundays Pastor Seth Clark presides on the U.S. side. A large gathering celebrates communion at the same time on the Mexican side of Friendship Park.
Pastor Seth Clark consecrates and serves communion from the U.S. side of Friendship Park.
If you would like, you are welcome to receive communion. Please know that people are doing the same thing on the Mexican side of Friendship Park. Afterwards, our friends in Mexico will enjoy a hearty meal, served free of charge to approximately 80 people each Sunday.
Border Church Team in Mexico (2018)
