The doors of a steel border gate opened for about an hour on Saturday, allowing short reunions and a wedding. An American man and a Mexican woman wed between the doors, which open briefly every year.
Saturday's wedding at Border Field State Park in San Diego was a first for the gate, known as the Door of Hope. Evelia Reyes, wearing a white wedding dress with train and veil, embraced Brian Houston of San Diego after signing marriage documents.
"It's a statement that love has no borders," Houston told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "Even though we are divided by a giant fence here, we can still love each other on both sides of the fence."
Houston, a U.S. citizen, said he couldn't go into Tijuana for reasons he declined to explain, but spoke daily with his bride. The couple has an attorney who is trying to obtain a green card for Reyes to join Houston in the U.S., he said, although that could take more than a year.
Border Patrol agents opened the gate at noon for an hour, allowing waiting family members from the U.S. to walk partly through and meet and embrace relatives in Mexico for just three minutes each before tearfully saying goodbye.