On the night of February 3, San Diego activists, organized by Fuerza Amigos de Aztlan, rose to defend immigrants and refugees at the border and to oppose the nativist trajectory of the U.S. Government. Despite extremely short notice, dozens of protesters gathered at the footsteps of a pedestrian bridge that straddles the I-5 freeway as it terminates on the U.S./Mexico border.
Following drums and dancing by a First Nations group, speakers addressed the gathered protesters and onlookers, sharing personal recollections of family, separation, and hardship in both English and Spanish. Strong messages denouncing the racist border patrol and ICE were received with defiant chants. Police presence was light and kept to the periphery of the demonstration, held back by the militant determination of the protesters.
Approximately fifty people took the pedestrian bridge. An illuminated sign, brought by the Overpass Light Brigade San Diego, shone over south bound traffic. The beaming message, “#NO BORDERWALL,” framed on all sides by signs and candles, prompted honking and shouted affirmations from drivers below. A defiant energy permeated the event.
From the bridge one could see the scintillating lights of Tijuana abruptly truncated by one of the most fortified borders in the world. An unending tide of travelers flowed in both directions, artificially constrained by a wall meant to defend wealth and divide people. The absurd rhetoric of the 45th president of the United States is a but a part of this country’s continued inhumanity towards the people of Mexico and immigrants. That he would build a wall is irrelevant; the walls we have must come down. Amidst these challenges the people unite and affirm their acceptance of immigrants and their solidarity with the peoples of the world.
