President Joe Biden has faced criticism over the addition of an anti-climbing feature to sections of California’s border wall, as the number of migrants sustaining injuries from falls continues to rise.
The wall, being constructed at Friendship Park between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, includes rooftop-like metal wedges designed to deter illegal crossings. However, migrant rights activists are concerned that these features will make the fence even more hazardous.
The criticism comes after eleven people were injured on Saturday from falls on the San Diego side of a section of the wall without the metal wedges. This incident occurred just days after a man died from falling from the wall in an area west of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.
California Border Wall (Credits: CNN)
Injuries and deaths among migrants attempting to enter the U.S. have increased since the Trump administration replaced existing border barriers, which were less than 20 feet tall, with 30-foot steel bollard barriers.
Pedro Rios, the director of the American Friends Service Committee’s U.S.-Mexico border program, expressed concerns that the anti-climb feature on the newly installed 30-foot border wall at Friendship Park “will cause more people to fall and injure themselves, as it is meant to prevent apparatuses from clinging to the top of the wall.”
The situation highlights the ongoing debate over border security and immigration policy in the U.S., with critics of the anti-climb feature arguing that it puts migrants at greater risk while supporters argue that it is necessary to deter illegal crossings.
