In the current international stage, where migration into the U.S. is increasingly intense and diverse, guaranteeing access to fundamental rights such as health care represents an essential challenge. Given the current situation, migrants, especially those with irregular status in the United States, have limited access to basic medical services. Recognizing this reality, Mexico has developed an innovative consular model that combines diplomacy, a humanitarian approach and direct action for the benefit of its population abroad.
The Health Windows (VDS is its acronym in Spanish), created in 2003 as a t initiative between Mexico’s Ministry of Health, the Institute of Mexicans Abroad (IMME) and the Mexican consular network in the United States, represents one of the most successful preventive care programs for migrants. These centers offer medical guidance, preventive health screenings, referrals to community medical services and health education, all in Spanish and within a safe space.
Through more than 500 partners — including clinics, hospitals, universities and civil society organizations — the Health Windows operates in all 53 Mexican consulates in the U.S., providing care to more than 1.5 million people annually while focusing on prevention and guaranteeing the rights of the migrant community.
Though this program, during the pandemic, we were able to apply COVID-19 vaccines to 26,414 maquiladora workers from May to June 2021, and four months later to 450 minors — from 12 to 18 — all of them from Baja California.
In the specific case of the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego, in 2024, more than 30,000 women and 20,000 men received care, including 4,000 pregnant women, 2,500 children and almost 1,000 people from the LGBTQ+ community. These figures reflect the growing demand for such services and the increasingly diverse profile of those who are facing barriers to access health care and turning to the consulate for such care. However, this goes far beyond welfare: It is a foreign policy aimed at preserving human dignity.
An innovative aspect of Mexico’s approach is its recognition of the high vulnerability migrant women face due to their gender, immigration status and socioeconomic standing. In this sense, since 2015, through the establishment of the Women’s Comprehensive Care Window, all services offered by the consular network, including those related to health care, have prioritized a gender-sensitive approach.
The Women’s Comprehensive Care Window offers psychological counseling, legal assistance, referral to shelters and specialized services for women facing violence, discrimination or abandonment. By coordinating with the Health Windows, it is putting forth comprehensive care centered on the dignity, autonomy and safety of migrant women. Additionally, to strengthen Mexico’s feminist foreign policy, it has been replicated in all Mexican consulates in the U.S. states, as well as several embassies around the world.
To achieve the objectives of the Women’s Comprehensive Care Window, Mexican consular representations establish strategic alliances with local stakeholders, from state governments to universities, mobile clinics and mental health centers. These networks allow for broader, more specialized care tailored to each region’s needs.
Distinctive initiatives such as binational health fairs in rural areas or bilingual mental health programs in urban centers demonstrate the adaptability of the consular model. In addition to offering services, these measures strengthen Mexico’s image as a responsible, approachable and committed state for its citizens abroad.
Mexican consular diplomacy has become one of the most active and internationally recognized, thanks to its responsiveness to complex challenges such as migration and access to health care. Initiatives such as the Health Windows and the Women’s Comprehensive Care Window have demonstrated that consular protection can also be a powerful tool for social transformation, centered around dignity, inclusion and human rights.
This model would not be possible without the commitment, sensitivity and dedication of the of the Mexican Foreign Service who work daily within the consular network to make this vision a reality, always placing the individual at the center of diplomatic action.
When global challenges demand firm and sustained responses, there is no room for improvisation. President Claudia Sheinbaum’s commitment to Mexican communities abroad represents a historic opportunity to strengthen consular diplomacy with a long-term vision that is aligned with the principles of a feminist, ive and human-centered foreign policy.
Kerber Palma is a career diplomat and consul general of Mexico in San Diego.
