Mariposas
Sin Fronteras
envisions a world without borders, where our communities have the freedom to move or stay as they choose and live lives filled with trans and queer love, joy, and autonomy.
Our Mission
Mariposas Sin Fronteras is an organization based in Tucson, Arizona, dedicated to supporting the leadership of LGBTQIA+ migrants (whom we refer to as “compes”). We provide essential material and educational resources to help them heal and maintain their mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being.
Our mission involves working together in solidarity to advocate for the needs of our communities as we strive for an abolitionist future. We are committed to fostering a dignified life for the trans-queer immigrant community, ensuring they have access to vital resources for health, mental health, housing, food, education, economic opportunities, coexistence, and community support. We believe that every individual has the right to thrive in their place of origin or to migrate by choice, not by force.
Our Vision
Mariposas Sin Fronteras envisions a world without borders, where our communities have the freedom to move or stay as they choose and live lives filled with trans and queer love, joy, and autonomy. Achieving this vision requires us to dismantle all oppressive systems that work against our communities, such as the carceral system, capitalism, white cis-heteropatriarchy, and colonialism.
Our History
Mariposas Sin Fronteras (MSF) was established in December 2011 by queer individuals within the migrant rights movement in Arizona. They recognized a significant lack of attention to the systemic violence and abuse faced by LGBTQIJ+ (jota/joto/jotx, a reclaimed term used by some queer/trans Latinx individuals) migrants held in the confines of detention centers.
Initially, MSF focused on fundraising to secure bonds for the release of LGBTQIJ+ individuals from detention. The organization quickly expanded its efforts to include writing and visitation programs, as well as providing legal support and letters of advocacy for judges. Through our emphasis on solidarity and relationship-building with those in detention, many individuals who were released joined MSF as core members.
In 2017, MSF opened Casa Mariposa, a house and adjacent casita in Tucson, AZ, which serves as transitional housing for LGBTQIJ+ individuals recently released from detention centers. Casa Mariposa can accommodate up to eight people and offers a community kitchen, as well as a workshop space. After a brief pause, we resumed our transitional housing program in early 2026, and the front part of the house is currently undergoing renovations.