Friendship Park’s intended purpose is lost in fog of border war

John Fanestil, a United Methodist minister, is one of several activists who say they are determined to “use the park for its intended purpose.” Even as the construction project marches toward the sea, Fanestil holds Communion at the fence every week, passing a chalice of wine over or through the barriers.

“There is no accountability and no check on the power of Homeland Security,” he told me as we hiked to the fence. “What they’re doing here is almost punitive.”

Illegal border crossings at the park stopped being a major problem more than a decade ago — that traffic moved inland, to the Sonoran Desert, after the Clinton administration’s Operation Gatekeeper brought fences, cameras, floodlights and motion detectors to the area. But the current administration’s determination to build ever-higher barriers has not flagged.http://www.latimes.com/news/local/immigration/la-me-tobar6-2009jan06,0,3282672.columnBy Hector Tobar, Los Angeles Times