Temporary shelter Casa Arcoiris emerged as a space to accommodate LGBTI+ migrants in February of 2019, after several months of supporting and housing a significant number of migrants who arrived in Tijuana in masse through the 2018 caravan, made up mostly of people from Central America in the context of a migration crisis that seized international headlines and completely saturated services aimed at migrants in the city.

In response, a committed team of local activists and a strong network of binational organizations emerged, who created promoted what would become Casa Arcoiris and have worked tirelessly to maintain the shelter and ensure that residents receive comprehensive care by providing housing, psychological support, medical care, social services, educational services, legal services for asylum application in the US and other countries, social and labor insertion for cases of refuge in Mexico, prioritizing that the services offered are by professionals of the LGBTI+ community and/or are allied people with human rights and non-discrimination.

Although Temporary Shelter Casa Arcoiris was born from the presence of caravans of migrants from the so-called Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras), its activity does not come down only to offering attention to people from those countries, it focuses on welcoming the LGBTI+ community fleeing for security reasons and safeguarding the integrity of the LGBTI+ migrant community of any country, which makes us a unique space.

Since 2019, the shelter has provided housing and services to over 219 LGBTI+ migrants from 16th nationalities, with the vast majority seeking humanitarian protection in the United States after their stay in the shelter.