Mexico consulate in El Paso gives free health care to illegals

At least 600 Mexicans, most of them in the U.S. illegally, have received vaccinations this year at the Mexican Consulate in El Paso, Texas. Mexico's consul in the border city, Roberto Rodriguez Hernandez, said that 250 AIDS tests have also been performed.

'The immigrant community, especially those who are undocumented in El Paso, come to us so that we will provide them with free health care because they're afraid of being reported if they show up at clinics or hospitals,' Hernandez said.

Vaccines have also been sent to remote rural and poor areas like Lovington and Hobbs in neighboring New Mexico, where illegal-alien workers from the El Paso consulate go as well.

'The intention is to improve the quality of life of Mexicans in South Texas and New Mexico by giving them ways to take care of their health and avoid worse problems later on that could require emergency service,' Hernandez said.

The consulate has also established support centers in American jails like La Tuna Federal Prison in New Mexico. More than 150 inmates have received high-school instruction and upon graduation receive a diploma from Mexican educational authorities.