Revisiting the Tijuana 'soccer field' that was a flashpoint in the immigration debate

Support for LAist comes from

Become a sponsor

Podcasts Take Two

May 16, 2016

Listen • 6:56

Revisiting the Tijuana 'soccer field' that was a flashpoint in the immigration debate

For years an area known simply as 'the soccer-field' was one of the most notorious crossings between the US and Mexico.

A fence runs along the US-Mexico border between the Otay Mesa and San Ysidro ports of entry in and near San Diego, California, across from Tijuana, Mexico.

For years an area known simply as 'the soccer-field' was one of the most notorious crossings between the US and Mexico.

For years an area known simply as 'the soccer-field' was one of the most notorious crossings between the US and Mexico. The patch of dirt in a canyon just southeast of San Diego became a flashpoint in immigration reform under then-President Ronald Reagan in 1986.

"Both sides would use [the field] depending on how they viewed that debate," said reporter John Wilkens who went back to the area to talk to local residents and see how much has changed today. He wrote about it for the San Diego Union Tribune.