In April 2024, Humane Borders expanded operations to the Yuma, Arizona area, with a new permitted water station at a location along the border wall that separates San Luis, Arizona from San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico. About 25-300 asylum seekers gather at this location daily after crossing the border. Men, women and children often wait for hours in extreme temperatures for Border Patrol vans to arrive and transport them for processing.

The station is in addition to those that Humane Borders currently operates in the desert west of Tucson, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, and Cabeza Prieta National Wiildlife Refuge near Ajo. 

“We’re excited have our first station at the border wall in San Luis,” says Fernie Quiroz, a Humane Borders volunteer who also leads the Arizona-California Humanitarian Coalition in Yuma. “This will allow us to deliver water more efficiently to people who need it and also reduce the use of plastic.” The stations will be supplied with biodegradable cups for those who don’t have their own bottles.

The decision to apply for the permit with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation followed a 2023 visit to Yuma from Humane Borders representatives who determined there was need and initiated the permitting process. 

Says Humane Borders Chair Laurie Cantillo, “Water is a human right, and we support the team in Yuma that works tirelessly to ensure people have clean, safe drinking water at the end of their long journey.”