Border Field State Park

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Border Field State Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Location	San Diego County, California
Nearest city	Imperial Beach, California
Governing body	California Department of Parks & Recreation

View of border fence at the Pacific Ocean, Border Field State Park. The fence at the extreme west end that runs into the sea was redone poorly by the US Army Corps Of Engineers.

Beach at Border Field State Park in Imperial Beach, California (near San Ysidro). (Tire tracks from Border Patrol jeeps are visible on the beach.)

Mexican family on US side of fence

Border Field State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of California, located within the city limits of Imperial Beach, California in San Diego County, adjacent to the United States–Mexico border. Its southwesternmost point is also the southernmost point in the state of California.

The Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve contains much of Border Field State Park and is an important wildlife habitat. The salt and freshwater marshes give refuge to migrating waterfowl and resident wading birds, such as Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon and pelicans. The park offers hiking, horse trails, surf fishing and birding.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was concluded on February 2, 1848, officially ending the war between the United States and Mexico. It provided that the new international border between the two countries be established by a joint U.S. and Mexican Boundary Commission. Both commissions surveyed and located the initial borderline at Border Field.

Approximately 53,000 people visit the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve and Border Field State Park each year^{[citation needed]}. Most (over 44,300) are foreign nationals in the process of crossing the United States–Mexico border without documentation^{[citation needed]}.

The last few sections of the fence are lengths of railroad track iron that was left un-braced by the Army Corps Of Engineers during an "upgrade" of the fence. The team removed a large section of the end of the fence and replaced it with the iron, unbraced, and did not extend it as long as it once was. Due to this some of the iron rails are bent as such that allows one to squeeze through. The border patrol guards do not hassle Mexicans who slip through or around the fence to the US side as long as they eventually return to the Mexican side.^{[citation needed]}

There are instances of people on the US side being robbed and the culprit will run back to the Mexico side easily evading the US authorities. Due to this possibility people are warned to be aware of the surroundings and take care to be safe.^{[citation needed]}