Construction to replace the last section of the U.S.-Mexico border fence east of the binational Friendship Park resumed last week — and now plans are underway to close additional gaps along the San Diego border area following President Donald Trump’s executive orders on border security, officials said.
On Friday, construction crews were seen on the U.S. side putting up sections of the new and taller border fence to close off the remaining 100-foot gap of the project, which was halted in March 2024 following a court order as it was nearing completion. Work picked up again after Trump’s inauguration.
The court case, filed in the Southern District of Texas, claimed that the Biden administration failed to use previously allocated funds to build new border walls and instead used them for repair projects or existing barriers, among other things.
A preliminary injunction, issued in March, prohibits the government from using U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s barrier system funds from fiscal 2020 or 2021 for “mitigation and remediation efforts, repair of existing barriers, so-called system attribute installation at existing sites, or other similar purposes.”
To do so, the government needed another source of funding. A spokesperson for CBP explained Friday that after an “internal review,” the federal agency determined that it could complete the project using only fiscal 2018 funding, “which was not impacted by the injunction.”
But the federal agency still needs additional funding to complete other parts, including the completion of road improvements, the spokesperson said. “CBP’s goal remains to complete the remaining aspects of the project as soon as possible once there is additional funding to do so.”
Trump’s actions to secure the border include “establishing a physical wall and other barriers monitored and supported by adequate personnel and technology.”
Trump’s national emergency declaration also “directs the Department of Homeland Security to take all appropriate action to deploy and construct temporary and permanent physical barriers to ensure complete operational control of the southern border of the United States,” the spokesperson said.
“CBP is working to close numerous gaps in the existing border barrier in the U.S. Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector,” the spokesperson added. “These projects are in various stages of planning and construction is anticipated to start as early as March 2025.”
Meanwhile, scores of active-duty military members, including 500 Marines and Navy sailors from Camp Pendleton, have been deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border to help reinforce border barriers, just as was done under the previous Trump administration.
During his 2016 campaign, Trump ran heavily on the promise of a border wall between the United States and Mexico.
Under his first administration, he announced the completion of about 450 miles of the border wall project, which mostly involved replacing old barriers and some construction in places where no barrier existed before.
The future of Friendship Park
While construction crews were actively working with heavy machinery Friday morning on the southwesternmost corner of the U.S., a few steps away on the Mexican side, a group of volunteers was cleaning up a binational garden in the 54-year-old Friendship Park.
The binational park was founded in 1971 by then-first lady Pat Nixon. On the U.S. side, it is located within Border Field State Park in a federal zone under the jurisdiction of the Border Patrol.
Throughout the years, the historic site became a meeting place for families on both sides of the border separated by immigration issues. For some, it was the only place where they could be reunited despite being separated by the border fence that limited contact to the tips of fingers.
The U.S. side of the park closed during the pandemic under the first Trump administration and later failed to reopen under President Joe Biden due to what the Border Patrol said were staffing issues.
When the construction project to replace the deteriorating wall in the area with a higher one was announced in 2023, the Biden administration promised that once it was completed, it would reopen access to the park and restore the binational garden on the U.S. side. Those plants were moved to make way for the construction.
On Friday, CBP signaled that such a plan remains on the table — but some components of the project are still awaiting funding.
“Our goal remains to complete this work as soon as possible, once we have received the funding to do so, and to fulfill our commitment to providing access to Friendship Park when it is deemed operationally safe to do so,” the spokesperson said. “In addition, the Border Patrol remains committed to restoring the Binational Garden following completion of construction activities.”
The Friends of Friendship Park, an advocacy group, said in a statement that they had not heard from the new administration but cited a letter it received last month from outgoing CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller in which he reiterated plans to reopen access to the park.
“The officials President Trump has tapped to lead CBP are very familiar with the site, having served previously in the SD Sector of US Border Patrol, and we are hopeful that they will make restoring public access to federal property a priority issue,” the nonprofit said in a statement.
Former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott, who once led the San Diego sector, is expected to lead CBP.
