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Seesaws Along US-Mexico Border Wall Were Installed Illegally, Have Been Removed

ARIANA DREHSLER/AFP/Getty Images

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Shelby Talcott Senior White House Correspondent
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Customs and Border Protection (CBP) removed bright pink seesaws installed between the U.S.-Mexico border wall in New Mexico Sunday because they were placed on private property with no prior approval.

Two California professors, Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello, came up with the “Teetertotter Wall” idea in 2009, according to Rael’s Instagram. The idea was intended to allow people to interact despite being separated by a wall.

The seesaws were installed and taken down shortly afterwards on Sunday when CBP realized that the group did not have prior approval to put the seesaws up.

“There is no playground along the U.S./Mexico border wall in New Mexico,” a CBP official told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “On the evening of July 28 U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered a small group who identified themselves as local university faculty/staff at the border wall. They had placed boards through the wall and appeared to be playing with residents of Mexico while recording the engagement.”

“The group removed the boards and left the area without incident after it was established that there was no advance coordination. Agents ensured that no people/goods were crossed during the encounter.”

The seesaws were placed on private property, according to a CBP official. The professors had not coordinated the installation with CBP before putting up the seesaws.

Bright pink seesaws were placed between the U.S.-Mexico border. (Screenshot Instagram/Ronald Rael @rrael Instagram)

Bright pink seesaws were placed between the U.S.-Mexico border. (Screenshot Instagram/Ronald Rael @rrael Instagram)

A video from Rael’s Instagram showed children and adults playing on the seesaws together. The seesaws were placed so that one side was on Mexico and the other was on the U.S. side. They were located between Sunland Park, New Mexico, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, according to NBC News. (RELATED: Supreme Court Allows Trump To Build 100 Miles Of Wall With Military Funds)

“The wall became a literal fulcrum for U.S. – Mexico relations and children and adults were connected in meaningful ways on both sides with the recognition that the actions that take place on one side have a direct consequence on the other side,” Rael wrote on Instagram Monday.

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