The federal government has denied permits for 12 water stations run on public lands by local migrant aid group Humane Borders, removing 30% of the group’s water stations they say are crucial to saving lives of people attempting to migrate.
That comes as immigration enforcement in communities across the country continues at a historically high level, and advocacy groups say seeking asylum in the United States has become virtually impossible.
“Water is a human right, and the removal of water stations during a surge of migrant deaths is deplorable,” Humane Borders Executive Director Octavio Fuentes said in a statement. “More people will die.”
The stations Humane Border is losing are on federal public land. While the stations are used by migrants, the group’s board chair, Laurie Cantillo, says local hunters have told the group they also appreciate having water accessible in the desert.
Human Borders first heard from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in March that three water stations — one at Cabeza Prieta and two at the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge — would not be renewed. Last week, the group was contacted by the Bureau of Land Management about three stations that would not be renewed at Ironwood National Monument and then on Monday heard from the National Park Service about the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument water stations.
Permits are typically for one year, said Cantillo.
A representative with the National Park Service confirmed the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument allowed the Humane Borders special use permit to expire. “This decision addresses ongoing safety, resource protection, and law-enforcement concerns associated with water stations near the international border,” said a statement shared by NPS’ Intermountain Region regional communications director Jessica Gardetto.
That comes at a particularly deadly moment for people trying to cross the desert.
Data collected by Humane Borders using Pima County Medical Examiner numbers counted the remains of 86 people found in the desert and presumed to be people attempting to migrate as of August this year.
The group named the loss of water stations at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, where the group said the remains of 16 people migrating have been found so far in 2026, as particularly painful.
The federal government’s effort to build a second border wall is impacting access to areas of the park as a months-long tree sit in Lochiel continues to work to block expansion of the wall.
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