Mexican officials installed a remnant of the Berlin wall near the U.S. southern border last month to teach “a lesson” about knocking down walls and building bridges.

The historic concrete slab right was placed next to the border wall in Tijuana – across from San Diego – with a message that seemed to advocate for allowing more illegal immigrants refuge in the United States. The move comes as record numbers of families crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally in August and as critics say President Joe Biden’s immigration policies have caused the “Biden Border Crisis.” 

“May this be a lesson to build a society that knocks down walls and builds bridges,” a plaque by the base of the Berlin Wall relic reads. 

Montserrat Caballero, the mayor of Tijuana, Mexico, and Marcelo Ebrard, a former Mexican foreign secretary, are the two individuals behind its placement, according to Fox News. Caballero is the one who penned the open-borders message, the outlet reports. 

In mid-August, after a ceremony unveiling the remnant of the Berlin wall, Caballero posted, “We are a government that believes more in building bridges, than walls that are useless,” according to a translated version of her Instagram post. 

Los Angeles-based producer Marcos Cline-Marquez helped bring the 3-ton piece of wall to Friendship Park, San Diego-based KPBS reported in August. Initially, the plan was reportedly to present it to President Donald Trump while he was still in office, but the White House declined. 

“You draw parallels between the Berlin Wall, a wall that was built to divide not protect, and the wall on our southern border,” Cline-Marquez said. Caballero had similar sentiments, acknowledging that while the “social and political conflict is different than the Berlin Wall” it’s still “a wall at the end of the day.” 

Caballero did concede that the U.S. has a right to enforce its border, even as she claimed the border wall represents “violence,” “family separation,” and “division.” 

As Mexican officials are denouncing the wall and even some Americans are advocating for open borders, the U.S. arrested 91,000 illegal immigrants who crossed the border as families in August – a record high, according to The New York Times. Many are released into the U.S. awaiting court dates. In July, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 183,503 encounters with illegal immigrants, Fox News reported. 

Since President Biden took office in 2021, at least 6.2 million illegal immigrant encounters have been recorded – resulting in more than two million migrants being released into the U.S., according to the Heritage Foundation.

Despite signing an executive order stopping the construction of a new border wall, Biden is finishing small projects that had previously been contracted out. This includes replacing the border wall on the Tijuana-San Diego section, the Associated Press notes. 

Many pieces of the Berlin Wall have been placed in various locations across the world, including hotels, schools, and parks, the outlet notes.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is “perfectly capable” of continuing to serve after appearing to freeze up for the second time in a month, a GOP colleague said on Sunday.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) told CNN’s Dana Bash that he spoke with McConnell on Saturday and informed the Kentucky Republican that he wanted to touch base before doing the interview.

“He was in good shape,” Rounds said. “He was direct. He said he fell. He said, ‘I had that concussion.’ And he said, ‘They warned me that I would be lightheaded in the future and that I have got to be aware of it.'”

Rounds added: “He said, ‘It happened twice.’ He said, ‘It just so happens I’m doing it in front of reporters.’ But he felt good yesterday. He said he’s got to watch his hydration levels.”

CNN reported that McConnell, 81, had fallen multiple times this year and sustained a concussion. The report came out in late July after McConnell appeared momentarily unable to respond to questions during a press conference on Capitol Hill.

Following a second incident last week — this one in Kentucky when McConnell paused for about thirty seconds when asked about his thoughts on running for re-election in 2026 — the attending physician of the U.S. Congress released a brief note.

BREAKING NEWS: Sen. Mitch McConnell appearing to have another scary episode in the media gaggle in Covington today. Aides had to step in to help him out and repeat questions. He was eventually lead away. We'll have the full video on @WLWT pic.twitter.com/q9ex5MHxLV

— Hannah Thomas (@HannahPThomas) August 30, 2023

“I have consulted with Leader McConnell and conferred with his neurology team. After evaluating (Wednesday’s) incident, I have informed Leader McConnell that he is medically clear to continue with his schedule as planned,” said Dr. Brian Monahan. “Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration.”

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Amid a renewed torrent of speculation about McConnell’s future and who might take his place as GOP leader in the Senate, Rounds insisted that McConnell would come back to Washington, D.C., and discuss the matter with his colleagues after the summer recess, during which the Kentucky Republican has been fundraising.

“Mitch is sharp, and he is shrewd. He understands what needs to be done. I will leave it up to him as to how he wants to discuss that with the American public,” Rounds said.

“But there’s no doubt in my mind that he is perfectly capable of continuing on at this stage of the game,” Rounds added. “And he’s got a good team around him. He’s done a good job of developing that leadership team. They have been supportive of him. During the time in which he was out of the center for a while, the team did a great job. My seatmate, John Thune here in South Dakota, picked up the reins and worked it well. And he had a great team around him as well. So I’m not worried about that at all. We have got a good team in place, and Mitch is there, and I think Mitch will be able to answer any questions that may come up.”