Trump wants a ‘beautiful’ new border wall. This artist is making the old one beautiful.

TECATE, Mexico — On a November morning in this quiet border city in the Sierra de Juarez mountains, Enrique Chiu sketches Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec god of knowledge, on the ribbed, rusted metal fence that separates one nation from another.

Children have gathered to help him decorate the deity, who is part-snake, part-bird, on this section of the wall. On other parts of the fence, in border cities like Tijuana and Mexicali, artists, residents and students have also volunteered to paint.

"Nobody likes the wall, so I'm going to use it like a canvas," Chiu said.

As the Trump administration pushes forward on the president's pledge to build a "big, beautiful" new border wall, Chiu, a Mexican-born, American-educated artist is working to turn the old one into a masterpiece.

Chiu launched his project, called the Mural of Brotherhood, last December, after Trump was elected on a platform of nationalist politics and widespread anti-immigrant sentiments. The U.S. is now testing prototype designs for the new wall, which Trump insists Mexico will pay for, despite repeated refusals from Mexican leaders. As relations between the two countries have soured, support for Chiu’s mural has grown.

Since Election Day, Chiu has enlisted more than 2,600 volunteers to paint uplifting messages on the Mexico-facing side of the U.S.-owned fence. Once completed, the mural should stretch more than a mile in Tijuana and shorter spans in Tecate, Mexicali, Ciudad Juarez, Naco and Reynosa – potentially setting the Guinness World Record for longest mural.

The murals spread messages of peace to people crossing the border by car or on foot, Chiu said. They're also intended to be a final glimpse of hope for migrants risking danger as they cross northward.

But in these border cities, the images are also a way for people who remain in Mexico to feel connected to those on the other side. In Tecate, some of the people painting the wall were separated from family in nearby California; others had been deported and were adjusting to their new lives.

"Many of the children have families on the other side of the border line," Tecate teacher Isis Jacqueline Lara Rodriguez said in Spanish. Her class of fifth graders participated in the mural event.

"Painting is a way of leaving their mark on the wall," she said.

That morning in Tecate, Chiu wore a utility vest and a wide hat to protect himself against the strong desert sun. As he and his volunteers painted, a line of cars moved swiftly across the city's port of entry, which is quieter than others in the region.

For those passengers, the border art might seem like a reflection of the local culture.

The mountainous city is unique among Baja California border communities: Rather than being industrial or overly touristic, Tecate is known for being the home of its namesake beer and offering spas, ranch resorts and lots of outdoor activities.

But for people crossing by foot, the mural will also serve as a directory, alerting people to where to find food and medical services, Chiu said.

Chiu frames his own migration story as one of opportunity.

He was born in Guadalajara and crossed the border with his mother when he was eight. He lived in Los Angeles, without legal status, for one year before returning to Mexico. He later attended California State University, Long Beach on a student visa and remained in the U.S. for 12 years.

"When I was living there, I was living the American dream," Chiu said. "I went to school, I had my business, I had my house, my gallery, my studio, three cars. I had everything there."

He moved to Tijuana about ten years ago and joined the burgeoning artistic scene. Within a couple of years, he again owned a house, business and gallery – this time in Mexico.

"You can live the American dream here, too, and you can do whatever you want," he said.

As Chiu paints murals on the south side of the border fence, the Trump administration is moving forward on its plan to build a wall along the 2,000-mile border between Mexico and the U.S.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is currently testing eight border wall prototypes, which are all between 18 and 30 feet high and 30 feet long.

The agency is evaluating components of each prototype to identify key attributes for potential wall designs, border patrol spokesman Ralph DeSio said in an email. It’s assessing their durability and determining the likelihood they could be scaled or breached using techniques typically used by smugglers.

The Border Patrol will not use vehicles, drones, catapults or explosives to test the prototypes, DeSio said.

But the process for building the new wall has raised eyebrows. The Trump Administration has waived more than 60 laws and regulations to speed construction along the border in San Diego and the rebuilding of a fence along two miles of border in Calexico. Those laws included the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.

The Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife and Animal Legal Defense Fund sued the federal government in September, arguing it must follow the environmental laws and regulations. The Center for Biological Diversity filed a similar suit over the waivers.

MORE: Behind efforts to build prototypes of Trump's border wall, emails show a confusing and haphazard process

Chiu started working on the Mural of Brotherhood after the 2016 election, but he has avoided painting Trump or Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto.

"I want to send a message that's going to stay longer than Trump or Peña Nieto," he said. "If I want to support people, it's with faith and hope."

Artist Luis Vargas traveled from Tijuana to Tecate to help Chiu paint the Mexico-facing side of the border wall. He grew up in Los Angeles and had a green card, but was deported in 2013 after he was charged with a misdemeanor.

Vargas said helping Chiu paint the mural in Tecate felt like a peaceful form of expression.

"It makes me feel good to be a part of something greater than myself," he said.

As about 60 Tecate-area students decorated the wall, they shared their stories of separation. Much of the paint was donated; the Tecate mayor contributed 10 buckets to the effort.

Eleven-year-old Edward Santana said his family lived in Riverside County until his Mexican-born father was deported. Edward now lives with his parents and baby sister in Tecate, while his older brother remains in California to attend school.

"I feel really sad because we want to be over there," he said.

MORE: As American kids pour across the border, Mexican schools struggle to keep up

Another student, 15-year-old Pouletthe Zuñiga, recalled the time she couldn't visit her great-grandmother in the hospital in California.

"I was one of her favorite granddaughters, but I couldn't see her one last time and couldn't go to her funeral," she said. "It's really sad."

Chiu empathizes with the students. He said his own mom stayed in the U.S. for 20 years. She didn't return to Mexico until she got her green card last year.

Chiu, meanwhile, hasn't crossed the border since the election. He vows he won’t go until he finishes his mural project or Trump is out of office.

"I have those feelings, I have that connection, too," Chiu said, but, "I don’t like to say those sad words."

He prefers to paint.

Rebecca Plevin covers immigration and equality for The Desert Sun. Contact her at rebecca.plevin@desertsun.com or @rebeccaplevin on Twitter.