Texas lawmakers (R-John Cornyn) want Mexicans treated like Canadians in U.S. travels

WASHINGTON — Texas lawmakers are calling on the Department of Homeland Security to give Mexicans the same freedoms Canadians get when traveling through the United States.

Mexicans can stay up to 72 hours in the United States, but must have a border crossing card, also known as a laser visa, from a U.S. consulate when traveling to the United States for tourism, visits with relatives or to do business.

Their travel is restricted to up to 25 miles from the border, except at certain ports of entry on the Arizona-Mexico border.

Canadians can stay in the United States up to six months and are granted entry with proof or declaration of Canadian citizenship. They are free to travel throughout the United States.

To stay in the country six months, a Mexican must have a border crossing card, submit a form, an I-94, at a port of entry and pay $6. A Mexican wanting to travel beyond the 25 miles from the border must apply for a regular tourist or business visa.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, say the unequal treatment of Mexicans, hurts the economies of U.S. communities along the U.S.-Mexican border.

“I have not found any good reason why we would treat people from Mexico and Canada differently,” Cornyn said. “Mexicans come in. They invest in our real estate. They have businesses. They make a tremendous contribution to our economy.” Cornyn plans to introduce legislation on the issue as early as Friday.

Cross border traffic is common in many border cities. At some U.S. malls on the border, cars with Mexican license plates are readily spotted in parking lots. Some families have relatives on both sides of the border and some business have offices on each side.

“We’re happy to work with Congress on any rules and regulations that they would like to change. We have to look into it to see what should be or could be done,” said Danielle Sheahan, a spokeswoman for Customs and Border Protection in the Homeland Security Department. She did not immediately know why the different restrictions were created for Mexicans.

Ortiz was plans to send a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge urging him to revise the policies. Ortiz said the policies can be changed administratively, without congressional action. “We are asking that you do precisely that,” Ortiz said in the letter he was circulating among border state lawmakers Thursday for signatures.

Border business officials brought the differences in treatment of Mexican and Canadian citizens to the lawmakers’ attention. “We see our Mexico border neighbors as one of us. We’ve been raised here and we see our neighbors as part of economic development,” said Norberto Salinas, mayor of Mission. “When we go to Mexico, we don’t get 72 hours.”

The disparity has become more visible as the federal government has adopted tighter border security measures since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Cornyn said that the checks of some laser visa holders has shown that some Mexicans stay past the 72 hours, but the limit previously was not strictly enforced.

He and Ortiz are concerned that as the federal government puts in place an entry-exit system to ensure foreigners don’t overstay their visas, Mexicans will have more trouble crossing into the United States.

“There’s just a big disconnect between the reality of life on our border and the understanding of government officials inside the Beltway,” Cornyn said. “We ought not to create obstacles for people who contribute to the economy.”


The Illegal Alien Amnesty of Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) - S.1387 - full text
			Posted by Sabertooth On 10/12/2003 5:18 PM PDT with 38 comments October 12th, 2003 \| Sabertooth In July of this year, Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced his Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2003 (full text below), for the purpose of establishing new regulations on foreign-born "guest workers" in the Untied States. Several sections of Cornyn's legislation warrant a bit of scrutiny... SEC. 218A. GUEST WORKER PROGRAMS. (i) ABSOLUTION FOR PAST ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR- An alien who participates in a guest worker program shall be absolved of all liability for illegal behavior, as such behavior pertains to the immigration status of the alien, that occurred before the alien's participation in the guest worker program. SEC. 218B....

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I just e-mailed the senator. I explained the article that I had read about Canada and Mexicans crossing the border.

Then I said,"We need to take this one step further. Could you please explain why the Mexican government doesn't take the responsibility of their citizens like the Canadian government does?" I then explained how I knew it to be a fact that Canada flies all the way to the border to pick up their patients and pays their bills.

I also told him I had read his guest worker bill and nowhere does it mention the fact that Mexico should be responsible for their citizens health care. I suggested he tie Mexican oil with this bil to pay for health care.

I almost went into a rant about the high insurance premiums and the fact everyone knows the reason being the high cost of illegals. I did not call them undocumented either.

I suggested some texas newspaper articles about increased insurance premiums and gave him a personal example of Americans having to cross the border to get cheaper health care. I asked him if he has ever seen a union strike for only health insurance?

I told him that America has the greatest health care system the world has ever known. Hopefully, you and congress will not destroy it.

I was angry when I wrote this e-mail, so I let it all hang out. But I wasn't ugly to him. The only thing that may have sounded bad was when I said "hopefully, you and congress will not destroy it." Maybe, I will get an answer.

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