A storm and smugglers broke through the steel fence border between the U.S. and Mexico in two different spots in Arizona this weekend.

According to The Associated Press, a storm began on Friday in Sonora, Mexico, and continued until Sunday morning. On Sunday, debris from Mexico washed up against the fence, which lies west of the Nogales-Mariposa Port of Entry by Interstate 19. The fence is between 18 and 26 feet tall, going a minimum of 7 feet underground, and 60 feet of it was knocked down.

"Resources have been deployed to the area until the fence is repaired," Nicole Ballistrea, U.S. Border Patrol spokeswoman, said. "Our technology assets such as cameras are also able to assist us. Contractors have assessed the damaged section of the fence and are developing a plan to initiate repairs."

According to John Hays, floodplain coordinator for the Santa Cruz County Flood Control District, the fence, which was built in 2011, seems to have floodgates that did not open during the storm. Houses and businesses in Nogales suffered floods up to three feet.

"It had a lot of water behind it, and it just pushed the fence straight down," he said. "If you're fencing is tight enough to catch debris, it basically becomes a dam. It's not meant to withstand those loads of water."

Hays added that damage costs have not yet been calculated.

Meanwhile, smugglers reportedly cut through part of the fence on the other side of town, about 1.25 miles east of Nogales, by use of unidentified tools, Nogales International reported. An unknown suspect reportedly cut through eight of the fences' poles. The holes, approximately 10 feet above ground, were discovered Saturday and seemed big enough to "drive a medium-sized vehicle thorough," according to the newspaper.

On Monday morning, contractors came to repair the holes.


(Photo : NogalesInternational/Twitter)

"As the Tucson Sector continues to improve deterrence efforts along the border, smuggling organizations are finding it more difficult to move their illicit goods into the interior of the United States," Ballistrea wrote in a statement. "Fencing infrastructure gives Border Patrol agents the time they need to stop illegal cross-border activity."

Not everyone agrees on the fence's usefulness, however. The Sierra Club recently released a statement on the costliness of the fence, saying that "the average mile of border wall costs taxpayers $4.5 million, an average mile of vehicle barrier $1.6 million. In some places, the cost of construction has exceeded $12 million per mile."

"Border walls obviously aren't working," Dan Millis, borderlands program coordinator for the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club, told Washington Times. "Instead they just cause problems with flooding, fragment habitat and block wildlife migration corridors. It's time for real solutions."
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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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