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Humane Borders Water Station Maps And Warning Posters

Since our start five years ago, we have collected data and assembled maps of the Arizona border with Mexico to track favored migrant paths, as well as the locations where migrants die. This helps us make strategic decisions about where to collaborate with land owners and managers about water station placement, and also allows us to show, in a graphic way, how the water stations help mitigate the loss of life.

Note: In 2005, ESRI donated Global Information System software to Humane Borders to allow exact plotting of water stations, migrants deaths and other salient details on high resolution maps. John Chamblee donates his time and expertise to configure the software and bring it online. An anonymous supporter donated a $1,500 laptop computer suitable for running the software.

Those of you returning to this page after its launch Jan. 19, 2006, will notice we have removed the full-scale, high-resolution maps. The maps were enormously popular, and the sheer number of downloads pushed us well past our bandwidth allocation. The smaller JPEG files are suitable for most purposes; if you need a full scale map for research, please contact us and we'll be happy to supply whatever you need. (More on the map program here.)

Migrants Deaths, Rescue Beacons, Water Stations 2000-2007

This map shows the location of 1,138 migrant deaths recorded between Oct. 1, 1999 and Sept. 30, 2007.

Previous maps:

Migrant Warning Posters: Don't Do It! It's Hard! There's Not Enough Water!

These posters are distributed widely in churches, shelters, shops and other locations on the south side of the U.S.-Mexican border. They warn migrants in stark terms about the dangers they face trying to cross into the United States illegally, on foot through the desert, despite what human smugglers tell them. The estimated walking times from entry points are highlighted, as are the sites of migrant deaths and the location of water stations.

For more information, please contact us.