On Sunday morning in San Ysidro, about one hundred people gathered for the first annual Breakdown Borders 5k protest.
The event kicked off with cultural music and dancing before the group split into two, walkers and runners. Both groups started the race at Larsen Field, walked along the border fence behind Las Americas Premium Outlets and circled back to Larsen Field.
Organizers and protesters want to show their disapproval to violence in border communities.
Event organizer Alborz Ghandehari said the extreme violence needs to end in all border communities, not just here in San Diego.
"Over 20,000 border patrol agents, the use of drones, military helicopters has caused extreme violence for the impoverished migrant communities as well as indigenous communities in the border region," Ghandehari said.
San Ysidro, the gateway between San Diego and Tijuana, is the busiest border crossing in the world.
The event was organized by two local groups, Colectivo Zapatista and the Palestinian Youth Movement Group.
Breakdown Borders took place during the 10th annual Enero Zapatista celebration, a month-long celebration here in San Diego. It's when the Hispanic community celebrates the Zapatista Rebellion occurring in the southernmost part of Mexico, which gained political freedom to those living along the southeastern border.
Organizers told NBC 7 they hope to hold the Breakdown Borders 5k annually.
Local
Policing the border has been a hot topic, especially with multiple deaths circulating the news. Most recently, a 58-year-old man died while in a Border Patrol holding cell at the Campo checkpoint.
NBC 7 recently talked to Shawn Moran, Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council.Moran said agents have a dangerous job and he takes offense when they're accused of using excessive force while on the job.
