Calexico, California: As President Donald Trump headed to the border with Mexico on Friday to make a renewed push for border security, protesters gathered in the small town of Calexico, marching down the street waving signs and chanting.
Trump, tweeting as Air Force One approached California, tried to blame Democrats for a lack of progress on the wall, which was his signature campaign promise yet remains unbuilt.
Trump also denied that he changed his mind about shutting down the border with Mexico, a threat he backed off on Thursday. Trump said he reversed course because he saw Mexico get tougher in stopping illegal immigrants from moving north.
Protesters both for and against Trump stood in a parking lot not far from where the president planned to visit the border fence Friday afternoon. They were less concerned about the threat of shutting down the border given the president's backtrack and largely just spoke of his policies overall.
William Johnson with the anti-Trump Backbone Campaign brought along a giant balloon of Trump depicted as a baby which flew in the wind along the border above protesters.
"He doesn't actively know the policies that his administration is putting forward. So in that sense, he's not really doing his homework either. He's acting like a seven-year-old and we want to show that to him," Johnson said pointing up at the balloon.
Aurea Berry, a Mexican immigrant and legal resident of the United States, stood among the crowd of largely anti-Trump protesters, shaking her head.
She said she voted for the president and agrees with his immigration policies.
"Go through the process. If you want to become a citizen, go through the process like everybody did. I did it myself," Berry said. "I know we all look for a better life but I think the way to do it is the legal way."
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Calexico Mayor Lewis Pacheco sat a few miles up the road in his office. He was not invited to meet with the president.
"This country was based on receiving the homeless, the humble, the needy," Pacheco said. "This is a melting pot. We are a nation of cultures, nationalities, and we can't get away from that. It makes us much stronger."
