The Biden administration’s expansion of the U.S.-Mexico border wall threatens to destroy hundreds of murals along the Tijuana side of the border.
Artists from places all over the world — including Brazil, Argentina, France and Japan — have helped turn the border wall along Friendship Park near the Pacific Ocean into a colorful canvas.
Most of the artwork captures differing takes on migration. Murals include portraits of undocumented migrants, messages to deported veterans, images of migratory birds … even an astronaut floating in space.
“We won’t be able to get this wall back,” said Enrique Chiu, an artist who has been painting along the border since 2016.
This project, supervised by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), was first approved during the Trump administration. It includes replacing existing fencing and adding new walls along the beach.
Advocates have tried to block this expansion for more than a year. A group called Friends of Friendship Park have criticized President Joe Biden for breaking a campaign promise that, “there will not be another foot of wall constructed on my administration.”
In other parts of San Diego, replacing the 18-foot wall with a 30-foot one increased injuries and fatalities from people trying to cross illegally. White House officials have defended the project, saying the existing fences are deteriorating and unsafe.
Chiu and other artists would like to see the murals preserved — perhaps in a museum. But he knows it’s unrealistic to save all of the artwork.
“We have been borrowing this wall,” Chiu said. “If I paint a mural on someone’s house, they can decide to paint over it whenever they want.”
One section is already lost. A portion of the wall along the beach that once featured colorful hearts and silhouettes of Mexican women. Now it is a rusty metal fence with some barbed wire.
It was painted by a group of 16 female artists from Mexico City. They called Chiu as soon as they heard the news, he said.
The artists are sad about the loss, but eager to paint again. As soon as the new wall is installed.
“Let them put up the new wall so we can paint,” Chiu said. “We need to bring artistic expression to this place again.”
