‘Door of Hope’ to remain closed
US border zone allowed for quick reunions between family members on either side of the fence
US Border Patrol will not reopen doors in the border fence at Friendship Park this year, ending a series of events that allowed chosen families to reunite briefly on the line between the US and Mexico.
The agency has cooperated with six door-opening events organised by local non-profit Border Angels since 2013. A surprise marriage ceremony between a US citizen and a Mexican woman at November’s opening placed the events under scrutiny after reports of the groom’s criminal record surfaced.
Groom’s drug conviction
Enrique Morones, founder and executive director of Border Angels, said that neither the wedding nor the groom’s conviction were the reason behind the change.
Morones said Rodney Scott, who was appointed chief of the San Diego Border Patrol sector in December, turned down Morones’s request to hold similar events in the El Centro sector when he was chief there.
“He was totally against it. He has that history,” Morones said.
When groom Brian Houston’s drug smuggling conviction emerged in the weeks after his abbreviated ceremony, Scott warned that the wedding could have repercussions.
“This unauthorised event has now jeopardised future events and the continued opening of the border wall door,” Scott said at the time.
An official statement from Scott on Friday ending the door openings did not mention the nuptials.
“The US Border Patrol will continue to uphold its responsibility of protecting our borders between official ports of entry. Moving forward, the maintenance gate will be used for maintenance purposes only.”
The “Door of Hope” events, as Border Angels called them, allowed family members who could not cross the border to reunite and hug for a couple of minutes.