In the Field: Photo Blog by Richard Wong

Photography field reports by Richard Wong. Richard’s work has been published in magazines, books, advertising, and offers fine art prints of his work. Images may be licensed as rights-managed stock photos by contacting Richard directly at Richard@rwongphoto.com or (626) 422-6151. California stock photography, fine art prints, photo blog: www.rwongphoto.com

U.S. Border Fence

Posted on | September 26, 2008 | 4 Comments

U.S. / Mexico Border, Border Field State Park, California U.S. / Mexico Border, Border Field State Park, California

Border Field State Park is actually part of the Tijuana River Estuary Reserve. There are kelp strewn along the beach and a part of the beach roped off for snowy plovers. If it weren’t for the complicated political situation, it would just be like any other beach.

We spoke to the border patrol agent for about a half an hour after this and he gave us the low down on what goes on here. It is true that many people trying to cross the border at night come in an attempt to provide a better life for their families but there are also a fair amount of misfits also; murderers, child rapists, Iranians, etc… I believe there was a European that waded off-shore in the ocean for hours trying to avoid getting caught. It wasn’t until that he stumbled onto shore with hypothermia that he was apprehended. He was described as a normal-looking white guy but a background check revealed that the guy was wanted by Interpol in multiple countries.

Supposedly, the situation was worse a few years ago before the feds started to beef up security at Border Field State Park. Large groups in excess of 50 people would cross nightly and disperse into the neighborhoods of Imperial Beach. Once they cracked down on the illegal activities, the amount of people attempting to cross at night dwindled thus making Imperial Beach real estate values skyrocket.

The law enforcement situation was described as a cat and mouse game going on between the immigrants and the U.S. Border Patrol. When the feds seal off one area, the immigrants move onto other areas. In the news earlier this year there were even underground human smuggling tunnels in the Imperial County area.

Lost amongst all of this chaos is that there are legitimate families out there that have been split apart. I saw numerous families talking with loved ones at the fence near the parking lot. One large group even appeared to be having a family meal. I don’t know what their situation is like but I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad for these people as I was driving home at night on I-5.

See more of my San Diego pictures.

Category: Border Field SP, California, San Diego
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Comments

4 Responses to “U.S. Border Fence”

  1. LEANNGREENE
    September 26th, 2008 @ 9:58 am

    Very nice image-looks like a gradient histogram -very simple and clean unlike the topic for the post.

  2. Richard Wong
    September 26th, 2008 @ 10:14 am

    Thanks Leann.

  3. Anonymous
    September 26th, 2008 @ 2:24 pm

    “A picture is worth a thousand words”, in this instance I would have had no idea to the meaning of the photography without your explanation (which was honest and touching).
    Ditto for yesterday’s post. You really have a special way of delivering your photos with your choice words. Teri in CR

  4. Richard Wong
    September 26th, 2008 @ 9:54 pm

    Thanks Teri. I agree that the photo essay format has the ability to connect on a deeper level than just either photos or writing on its own. I think this is what has made National Geographic so special over the years. It’s unfortunate that there are so few outlets in the mainstream media which allow for work like this now. That is why I think blogs are so great at filling this void.

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