Humane Borders operates a series of dozens of permitted water stations in the Sonoran Desert, along the Arizona/Mexico border wall and routes used by migrants making the perilous journey here on foot. Our primary mission is to save desperate people from death by dehydration and exposure, while also working to create a more just and humane border. Since 2000, more than 4,308 men, women, and children have died in Arizona while fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries. Many more individuals go missing and are never found. 

Humane Borders works with government and private land owners and managers to make water and other lifesaving resources available to migrants, families seeking asylum, and anyone who finds themselves in the unforgiving Arizona desert with no water.  Our water stations consist of 55-gallon blue barrels with a 30-foot blue flag that's visible for miles, with blue as the universal symbol for water.

Founded in the summer of 2000, Humane Borders, Inc. is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with the support of hundreds of volunteers, Pima County, and the City of Tucson. Our focus is humanitarian assistance and reducing death and suffering in the borderlands. Donations to Humane Borders are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Funding for our lifesaving work comes primarily from individual donors, religious groups, and other nonprofit organizations.   

Water is life, and no one should die because they don't have clean, safe drinking water.  Join us in putting humanity before politics.

news & updates