Humane Borders Reports 12 Migrant Remains Found in Arizona Desert

Twelve migrant remains were found in Arizona’s desert in October as the loss of water station permits on federal land raised fresh concerns.

AZ Family reported that Humane Borders pointed to an unusually high death toll for the month after federal agencies declined to renew permits for a dozen water stations across the region, ending a 25-year partnership.

Federal agencies including the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Fish and Wildlife Service declined to renew the permits. Octavio Fuentes, the executive director of Humane Borders, spoke about the losses.

“We had water stations with the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and Fish and Wildlife,” said Octavio Fuentes, the Humane Borders executive director. “That’s where our water stations were at recently, but were removed.”

Fuentes said that finding 12 sets of remains in October stood out because peak numbers typically happen during the scorching summer months. July recorded 19 recoveries, marking the highest monthly total so far this year.

“When I saw the number of 12, it was anomalous because usually October isn’t as high,” Fuentes told AZ Family. “Our highest numbers are in June, July historically, of course, because of the heat.”

The organization has recovered the remains of 101 migrants so far this year, with 38 of those discoveries occurring on federal land. Out of the 12 remains found in October, 10 were estimated to be 6 to 8 months old, while the most recent discovery was 5 weeks old.

It remains too early to determine whether removing the stations contributed directly to any deaths over the past month. A petition calling for the restoration of the water station permits has gathered more than 1,000 signatures, while Humane Borders reports that 70% of its water stations remain active in other parts of the desert.