Saint Andrew's Clinic has been instrumental in changing the lives of many very needy families from Mexico, such as 11-year-old Lupita Tapia, six-year-old Victor Rafael, and eight-year-old Ronaldo Felix Contreras.

With the Clinic in Nogales, Ariz., and the patients and their families from various parts of Mexico, the question arises: How do they get across the border?

These families don't have to march through the desert and jump the fence, but many of them can't afford passports or visas, which are needed to cross into the United States.

But St. Andrew's Clinic seems to have it all figured out.

Coca Romero, a co-founder of the clinic, says if they have picture identification, she can get them across the border to the clinic.

Patients and families of the St. Andrew's Clinic without passports or visas can get special permits from Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) that allow them to cross just for their treatment with a promise from St. Andrew's to return them.

CBP allows up to 250 Mexican citizens wishing to attend St. Andrew's Clinic these special permits.

"If they do have a visa, great," Romero says. "We'll still pick them up in our van and promise to bring them back when their treatment is over."

Romero says the procedure before September 11, 2001 was slightly different, but she is happy to adhere to the new laws.

"If it weren't for the Border Patrol, we wouldn't function," Romero says.

With a donated van and volunteer driver, St. Andrew's is able to treat up to 350 patients at their monthly clinics and maintain a trusting relationship with the Department of Homeland Security.

Each family undergoes a screening process, conducted by Romero, to evaluate their financial situation and need for treatment at the clinic.

"Many people need our services, but we can only see up to 300 people per month," Romero says. "It is necessary to screen them because they might just be looking to cross the border."

But in it's near 35 years of operation, Romero and volunteers say there has never been an instance of someone from the clinic staying in the U.S. after treatment.

"When you see the condition of some of these families -- using a handicapped child as a crossing device is just not an option," says longtime clinic volunteer Buck Clark.

"This is the poorest of the poor we're dealing with, and they are grateful for the chance to just be here," says Clark.



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