Comparing crime in Camden vs. Philly is a no-win situation. I took some risks when I went to college in Philly, that my parents would not want to know about.
I’d only be concerned about what her level of Spanish is. Does she know enough that if she was in an emergency situation, she could ask for help from strangers?
A clinic is also somewhere where low-income folks are very likely to be, and low-income (even in the US) can mean looking for ways to make money that are not on the up and up.
I suggest that if you aren’t confident about your daughter’s Spanish skills, that would be the thing to work on. Get her to improve them ASAP.
The other thing is how much has she traveled on her own? Has she traveled in the US or worked all summer at college away from home?
If she has not navigated being in a US city alone for a month, I would not send her to a Mexican city alone for a month. BUT: if this is a supervised program, where she will be living with other students in the program and there is an on-site local contact, that would allay many fears.
I’ll agree that no matter where a young person goes, they had better not go alone if new to an area. She should have that lesson already.
I do not agree that just because it is “a month in a foreign land” it will automatically be a great experience. But I don’t agree that it should be completely ruled out either.