IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. – A protest was held near the U.S.-Mexico border Monday in response to the scheduled construction of 30-foot border walls that demonstrators claim will ruin Friendship Park.

The small protest happened after the Biden administration released plans to continue construction of the walls through the park rather than replace the existing 18-foot fencing.

Opponents of the idea said it will ruin the views of the park and impact the visitor experience, but U.S. Border Patrol agents claim higher walls are necessary to increase safety.

FOX 5 spoke with demonstrators who said that the higher walls are not needed.

“It’s false. We’ve asked many times and there is not a single documented instance of harm neither to a Border Patrol agent nor to a member of the public at Friendship Park,” said John Fanestil, a convener for Friends of Friendship Park Coalition.

Demonstrators told FOX 5 that putting up the 30-foot walls will create an instance of harm. They cited an increase in emergency room visits and deaths in January from people falling off the walls in the San Diego sector.

Construction of the 30-foot walls is scheduled to start this week.