Photographer Ariana Drehsler teamed up with KQED reporter Julie Small this past Tuesday to go on a ride-along with Theron Francisco, a public affairs officer with the U.S. Border Patrol.
They started early in the morning in Otay Mesa, a community located at the southern edge of San Diego. The tour began at the site of eight border wall prototypes next to the U.S.-Mexico border. Then, Francisco took them to visit Smuggler’s Gulch, a section of steep terrain used as a cross-over point for drug smugglers and coyotes.
Their last stop was Friendship Park, a bi-national park that separates San Diego from Tijuana. Drehsler said she noticed people taking selfies and trying to get as close to the fence as possible. “If they got too close, the Border Patrol would let them know,” she said.
During the tour, Francisco told Drehsler and Small that his grandmother came from Tijuana when she was a little girl. “It’s a reminder that no matter what job you have, we all come from somewhere,” said Drehsler.
Friendship Park it is not nearly as colorful as it is on the Mexican side, but there is a small section of the wall where someone wrote “God Loves Us All.” (Ariana Drehsler)Theron Francisco, the Public Affairs Officer with the U.S. Border Patrol, stands in front of the border wall prototypes in Otay Mesa, Calif. Before joining the U.S. Border Patrol, Theron worked in construction. He said his grandmother came to the United States from Tijuana when she was very young. (Ariana Drehsler)People take a selfie outside of Friendship Park in San Ysidro, Calif. Friendship Park is open on Saturdays and Sundays for four hours. Friends and family members are able to visit one another and speak through a metal fence. (Ariana Drehsler)Outside the gate where the 8 border wall prototypes are displayed in Otay Mesa, Ca. (Ariana Drehsler)The view from “Bunker Hill” where you can see Mexico on the left and the United States on the right divided by a border wall. (Ariana Drehsler)The view from the SUV of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Theron Francisco. Construction is underway to add additional vehicle inspection booths and to expand southbound Interstate-5 by adding more lanes. (Ariana Drehsler)People outside the gate of Friendship Park looking at the border fence that goes into the Pacific Ocean in San Ysidro, Calif. Friendship Park is open on Saturdays and Sundays for four hours. Friends and family members are able to visit one another and speak through a metal fence. (Ariana Drehsler)The secondary fence along the U.S.-Mexico border is near an area known as “Smuggler’s Gulch”. (Ariana Drehsler)A Border Patrol SUV looks over the U.S.-Mexico Border in the “Bunker Hill” district near Tijuana, Mexico. (Ariana Drehsler)
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