Are gates along the Arizona border being left open?

Gates along Arizona’s southern border are left open during the state’s monsoon season to prevent flood waters from damaging the border wall and to mitigate environmental harm. The gates are monitored using surveillance technology and not considered to be “unsupervised” by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

Unregulated flooding could undermine the stability of the border structure or block access roads to the border, making it more challenging for emergency personnel and border patrol officials to respond to any border activity. 

The Tucson segment of the Arizona border is designed with adjustable panels along river floodplains that are lifted to allow floodwaters to pass through during late summer storms.

Newer areas of the border wall, constructed under the Trump Administration, do not have built-in flood panels. Along this segment, regular gates are left open to minimize flood damage. 

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.