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Along one rugged stretch of the Rio Grande, U.S. citizens routinely cross the border into the United States illegally. A shortage of basic services in rural Texas, such as health care, means U.S. citizens rely on Mexican services and rarely pass through an official port of entry on return.

Informal, unregulated crossings have been a fixture of life for generations in rural communities along the U.S.-Mexico border. Today, however, with the unrelenting focus on border security, this kind of unfettered back-and-forth by U.S. citizens is rare.

"We're citizens. We're U.S. citizens that have to go to get help in Mexico," said Loraine Tellez, a resident of the unincorporated town of Candelaria in West Texas. She said that the help principally involves health care.

There are two towns here, hamlets really, both remote within their own countries yet a stone's throw from each other across the Rio Grande — San Antonio del Bravo in Mexico and Candelaria in Texas. Their combined population is estimated by residents to be approximately 150 people.

If you are in Texas and get sick or have an accident, you can walk across the river — using ropes to cross above the water — to a clinic in San Antonio del Bravo where treatment and medicine are free, paid for by the Mexican government even if you're a U.S. citizen. In the U.S., the nearest hospital is a long drive away in Alpine, Texas.

"A 10-minute walk versus three hours to the hospital," Tellez said, detailing her options.

It's not a violation of U.S. law to walk into Mexico. However, returning back to Candelaria is. The official port of entry is a 90-minute drive away.

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paid for by the Mexican government even if you're a U.S. citizen

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Originally posted by ShiroKuro:

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paid for by the Mexican government even if you're a U.S. citizen

It would be super interesting to get numbers of how many US citizens use medical services for free in foreign countries, and then put a dollar amount to those numbers if the same services were received (and billed) in the US.

The barriers to health care in the US are disgraceful, and our government officials should be ashamed that there are citizens crossing the border to receive care in Mexico, all the while while Rump is pushing for physical barriers to keep Mexicans out. Disgusting.

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Originally posted by AdagioM:
I’m guessing even the paid services are cheaper than in the US.