Blog Entry VI San Diego

Do good fences make good neighbors?

A week later, a marine fog was covering the county. The fence was calling. We set out early to see.

Alone in 2005, this single San Diego – Tijuana border-crossing saw 41. 5 million people enter the U.S. 







But there's more. The area is not only home to the busiest border-crossing in the world but also to the “fence”. Some prefer to call it a very expensive boondoggle.  We wanted to learn more.  


Friendship Park, situated where the border runs into the Pacific, seemed like the natural place to go. 

Until 2009, only a single chain-link fence marked the international border here. People on opposite sides used to come to visit and chat through the fence.

See the dolphins just behind the low flying pelicans.

Today, a new 20 foot tall steel wall cuts off communication between the two sides very effectively. 


Its purpose seriously compromised, Friendship Park now sits on an obscure empty beach which, only thanks to the Internet, we were able to find.

The irony: Collectively, five million people live within reach of the Friendship Park... yet only the dolphins, the pelicans, ...and of course, Joe, the friendly guard, showed up to keep us company.

Indeed, the patrols were mostly stand-off-ish but yet friendly.

Not only at the park fence, but everywhere along the wall, surprised border patrols were extremely accommodating. 

In Joe's case, I'm sure that loneliness was the elixir. 


Tasked with monitoring all the comings and goings around that new fence reaching out into the ocean, Joe's most memorable quote was that the fence was “awash” in controversy, despite its impact on illegal immigration.

What does a boondoggle look like?

The new fence, incomplete as it is, is actually 3 barriers in one. The first, 10 feet high, is made of welded metal panels. The second, 15 feet high, consists of steel mesh, and the top is angled inward to make it harder to climb over. 

Note the patrol SUV in "No Man's Land"

Finally, in high-traffic areas, there's a smaller chain-link fence. 

Out by the gate, Linda smiled 
and waved at the camera. 

Between the two main fences is a 150 foot "no man's land," which the Border Patrol sweeps with flood lights and trucks. There are even surveillance cameras. 

Helicopters were a constant
feature along the border.

Still, along this 3,169 km border with Mexico, vast stretches of some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world still rely almost exclusively on helicopters and border patrols. 

Will we have our own “Canadian” fence, Joe?

“What about it, Joe?”

“Not too sure! This baby down here is wearing us out. Whether we'll have the legs for a second one, I can't really say. Maybe Canada could help out!?”

“Sure thing, Joe... you poor misguided San Diegan.”

Until next time.