Mexico Places Piece of Berlin Wall Near US Border: ‘May This Be A Lesson’

The Mexican government took a shot at the border security advocates in the United States, placing a piece of the Berlin Wall just a stone’s throw from the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana.

Montserrat Caballero, the mayor of Tijuana, and Marcelo Ebrard, former Mexican foreign secretary, hosted a ceremony last month in the city, installing a shard of the Soviet wall, and placing a plaque near its base, reading, “May this be a lesson to build a society that knocks down walls and builds bridges.”

The symbolic gesture comes as the U.S. continues to expand its barriers across the nearly 2,000 miles of territory dividing the U.S. and Mexico. However, unlike the U.S. border, the Berlin Wall was installed by an occupying power to divide the nation against itself. 

“Why in Tijuana? How many families have shed blood, labor and their lives to get past the wall?” Caballero asked. “The social and political conflict is different than the Berlin Wall, but it’s a wall at the end of the day. And a wall is always a sphinx that divides and bloodies nations.”

President Biden’s administration has struggled to stem the flow of migrants across the U.S. Mexico border throughout his time in office. Hundreds of thousands of migrants illegally entered the U.S. each month this year. 

In July alone, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 183,503 migrant encounters. 

“We remain vigilant and continue to adjust our operational plans to maximize enforcement efforts against those individuals who do not use lawful pathways or processes, knowing that smugglers continue to use disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals,” acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller said in a statement last week.

Caballero went on to say that she respects that the U.S. must enforce its own borders, but she said the wall nevertheless represents “violence” and “family separation.”

On Biden’s first day in office, he signed an executive order, ending the construction of the new border wall. His administration is, however, moving forward with some projects that had already been contracted out when he took office.