Despite Border Patrol Ban, Communion Celebrations Continue at Historic Border Park--”For Now
(Karl W. Hoffman)
Editor's Note: Impacts of the border wall are important nationally and internationally, as well as for people in San Diego County. Each Sunday afternoon, Friends of Friendship Park gather at the historic venue to celebrate communion through the U.S.-Mexico border fence. Rev. John Fanestil, a pastor in the United Methodist Church and Executive Director of Foundation for Change, sent this poignant report to East County Magazine on closure of Friendship Park to the public.
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Border agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean
January 5, 2008 (San Diego's East County) — Assemblyman Joel Anderson has written a letter to President George W. Bush requesting a pardon for Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compeon. Both are currently in prison, serving 11 and 12 year sentences after being convicted by a jury of shooting the unarmed Osvaldo Aldrete Davila in the rear, then attempting to cover up their actions. Davila was later sentenced to two years for marijuana smuggling.
"The sentencing and imprisonment of Ramos and Compean and the severe impact on their families has demoralized the rest of the U.S. Border Patrol which is the nation's first line of defense against the massive influx of illegal aliens into the U.S.," Anderson wrote, noting that the East County Assembly district that he represents is significantly impacted by illegal immigration. "These men have already served nearly two years in prison, subjecting their wives and children to extreme emotional and financial hardship."
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December 7, 2008 (Tecate) — Between the desert and the sea beats the heart of Baja California: Tecate, Mexico (not to be confused with the American city by the same name just across the border). Located in the northern central part of the state, Tecate is the ideal starting destination to every other city or point of interest in the region including Mexicali, Ensenada, La Rumorosa, Tijuana, Rosarito Beach and San Diego, California.
La Rumorosa, a solid rock mountain range between Tecate and Mexicali, affords breathtaking scenery to the desert below. During wintertime, the snow-covered mountains of La Rumorosa bring a winter wonderland atmosphere to the area, the Mexican counterpart to Vail or Aspen, Colorado.
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December 2, 2008 (Otay Mesa) -- Senator Barbara Boxer announced today that a new port of entry will be developed two miles east of the current Otay Mesa border crossing, a project she and Senator Diane Feinstein pushed through the Administration.
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Border Fence creates opportunities for some, but draws criticisms from others, with waivers of environmental reviews
by Gayle Early
Gayle Early.
October 1, 2008 (El Cajon) - Congressman Duncan Hunter’s office hosted an informal briefing by the Army Corps of Engineers on September 18 on the status of the border fence construction and possible subcontracting opportunities for local businesses. Mary Spencer, the Army representative in the Small Business Association, also offered pointers on how to apply for contracts.
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Congressman Bob Filner and Assembly candidate Ray Lutz of East County speak out against Blackwater at Otay Mesa Rally
Story and photos by Gayle Early
Sign from a military families organization opposed to Blackwater.
October 1, 2008 (Otay Mesa) – In September 2007, 17 people were shot to death in the Nisour Square traffic circle in Baghdad, Iraq, by Blackwater Worldwide security guards contracted by the U.S. State Department. Two dozen more civilians were seriously injured, including a lawyer shot in the back four times as he tried to run away. Marking the anniversary, about 150 protestors demonstrated outside Blackwater West’s new Otay Mesa Naval Training Facility on Sunday, September 14, raising concerns about the private military contractor’s presence in San Diego and along an international border already rife with tension.
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September 1, 2008 (Holtville)--“These people came here looking for opportunity. Not one of them expected to die,” said Enrique Morones, erecting a hand-made wooden cross at a gravesite marked only by a brick engraved with the name Jane Doe.
A few years ago, there were twenty bricks in this pauper’s graveyard at Holtville in Imperial County, final resting ground for immigrants who died crossing the U.S.-Mexican border in San Diego and Imperial Counties. Now there are 656.
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New Campo Border Patrol facility (photo credit: Leon Thompson)
Public reactions varied to a new Border Patrol/Homeland Security facility in East County varied sharply.
One local conservative blogger thought it was a casino under construction, adding that it resembled “a palace.”
But an immigrant rights supporter observed, “It looks like a prison.”
Beauty, it appears, is in the eye of the beholder.
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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.
December 7, 2008 (Tecate) — Between the desert and the sea beats the heart of Baja California: Tecate, Mexico (not to be confused with the American city by the same name just across the border). Located in the northern central part of the state, Tecate is the ideal starting destination to every other city or point of interest in the region including Mexicali, Ensenada, La Rumorosa, Tijuana, Rosarito Beach and San Diego, California.
December 2, 2008 (Otay Mesa) -- Senator Barbara Boxer announced today that a new port of entry will be developed two miles east of the current Otay Mesa border crossing, a project she and Senator Diane Feinstein pushed through the Administration.
September 1, 2008 (Holtville)--“These people came here looking for opportunity. Not one of them expected to die,” said Enrique Morones, erecting a hand-made wooden cross at a gravesite marked only by a brick engraved with the name Jane Doe.
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