Protests to greet Trump’s wall review

SAN DIEGO — Numerous rallies both for and against President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful border wall” are expected to mark his first visit to California as president, where he will examine prototypes of towering barriers that could be built to separate the United States and Mexico.

Protests also are being planned across the border in Tijuana, Mexico, on Tuesday, when Trump will examine eight, 30-foot-tall prototypes built along the international border to fulfill his signature campaign promise.

Organizers on both sides were urging people to remain peaceful after recent scuffles at rallies in Southern California, including brawls at a Dec. 9 rally near where the prototypes stand.

San Diego is the largest city on the U.S.-Mexico border to formally oppose his plans, passing a resolution in 2017.

The visit comes amid growing tensions between the administration and state over immigration enforcement.

A top federal immigration official unleashed strong criticism of some of the state’s elected leaders ahead of the visit. Thomas Homan, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s acting director, singled out Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Monday for recent criticism of a spate of immigration arrests in the state and a federal lawsuit challenging state laws that limit cooperation on immigration.

Trump on Tuesday is expected to be briefed on lessons learned from the construction of the prototypes, built in San Diego last fall. He also will meet with border agents and officers to ask what they need, said Jonathan Hoffman, Homeland Security spokesman.