“It represents denial, represents exclusion and is pushing people away.”

—“Migrant advocate” Pedro Rios, complaining that the devices recently installed on top of a wall at the U.S.-Mexican border are “inhumane.”

As the Texas Ranger (weakly, unfortunately) portrayed by Glenn Campbell in the John Wayne “True Grit” says at one point, “I don’t understand this conversation at all.”

And neither do I. If someone can explain to me how the whole concept behind Friendship Park at the US-Mexico border makes any sense when it spawns the kind of wacko protest enunciated by Mr. Rios, please do.

Until I saw this story, I was happily unaware of Freedom Park’.’s existance. Here’s the description of the place from the “Friends of Freedom Park” website:

“Friendship Park is a binational park located at the western end of the US-Mexico border. For generations people have gathered here to meet up with friends and family “across the line.” While this historic location remains fully open and joyously well-utilized in Mexico, the U.S. side is marred by a system of double walls erected by the Department of Homeland Security.  Since 2008, San Diego Border Patrol officials have severely restricted public access in the United States. In February 2020 they completely closed the Park to the public in the United States.  At present they have made no commitment to its re-opening.”

Of course not! It shouldn’t re-open, because the thing was always an open invitation to Mexicans to illegally enter the country. Right now, people on the Mexican side can only communicate with those on the American side by touching fingers through the fence and speaking. It would be nice if citizens of both countries could meet unrestricted in a neutral zone, but the Mexicans can’t be trusted not to abuse the park to sneak into the U.S. Betrayal of trust has consequences.

Perfectly exemplifying the Bizarro World nature of the park, its “friends” are complaining about the anti-climbing devices recently added to the top of the wall at the location. The design (above) has a round base on top of the fence line with a lip that hangs over the Mexico side. “If you are trying to climb the fence from the Mexico side ( Me: ‘and no one tries to climb from the U.S. side‘), it makes it more difficult to get around the lip and more difficult to get a ladder hooked to it,” explains a sympathetic story at San Diego’s NBC affiliate’s website. “Some say it’s more likely for someone to fall.” A confirmed twenty-nine Mexican nationals died trying to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border last year, and 120 were injured. In 2022, 42 killed and 124 injured.

Does it have to be said that the way to avoid being hurt or killed trying to climb a border wall is not to climb a border wall? Why is anyone paying any attention to a complaint from the likes of Rios, who also said, “Border walls harm too many people, and they have become a public health issue.” He’s not the only one, however. “People are already falling all the time and are breaking their backs and legs,” warns John Fanestil, executive director of nonprofit organization Via International. “They’re fracturing their spines and many are dying from border wall falls — and that’s without these anti-climbing awnings they just added.” Gee John, is this really hard for you to grasp? Border walls don’t harm anyone who does what they are supposed to do when confronted with one: obey the law and don’t try to break it by going over the wall. Stay on your own side. If one country is trying to prevent people from illegally crossing a border, should they make it easier and safer to cross, or more difficult? Here, I’ll give you 30 seconds to ponder that…

Stumped?

Wow.

There is no right to try to sneak into the U.S. The anti-climbing devices represent denial and exclusion because our law is supposed to deny entry to non-citizens who refuse to follow the formal procedures for immigration, and exclude non-citizens who are trying to come into the country illegally because they should be excluded.

If Rios’s lament made any sense, then the U.S. should, in the interests of safety, install nice stairs with railings going up one side of the wall and down the other, with some nice refreshments at the top of the wall so border-crossers can take a break, followed by professional escorts to lead illegals into the U.S. safely so they can board a bus to the nearest airport to fly them to Martha’s Vineyard.