U.S. lawmakers request longer stays for Mexican laser visa recipients

Four Hispanic leaders from the U.S. House of Representatives have knocked together a bill that would eventually allow laser visa travelers from Mexico to stay up to six months in the States.

Democratic Reps Ruben Hinojosa, Ciro Rodriguez, Solomon Ortiz and Raul Grijalva joined hands with Republican Sen. John Cornyn who’s presenting a similar version of the bill in the Senate.

Senator Cornyn and the four Hispanic lawmakers have blasted what they call a preferential treatment to Canadians since Mexicans are not allowed to stay longer than 72 hours in the country whenever they carry laser visas or borderline crossing cards.

Wielding these special visas, “Canadians are allowed to stay in the country as visitors for up to six months. Nothing could be fairer than having Mexicans, who contribute so much to our powerful economy, to be entitled to the same privilege,” Rep. Hinojosa explained in a press release.

Mr. Hinojosa went on to say the new bill does not change the requirements for laser visa applications to enter the country. This kind of visa is granted by collecting the applicant’s biometrical data.

According to Rep. Hinojosa, a Mexican national who wants to spend a weeklong vacation on South Padre Island, is bound to cross the border several times, let alone countless inconveniences and gridlocks in entry checkpoints that this repeated crossing might bring on.

South Padre Island lies in the Gulf of Mexico off the waters of the state of Texas.

Mr. Hinojosa pointed out that travel restrictions for Mexican tourists and businesspeople are nothing but a waste of time at a moment when overwhelmed border patrolmen are griping over the shortage of inspectors and other necessary resources to enforce the law there.

Besides introducing the bill in the House, the four Hispanic congressmen also sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security to urge Secretary Tom Ridge to take all administrative actions that would eventually put an end to this discriminatory treatment.

For his part, Sen. Cornyn said his version of the bill in the Senate seeks to bring down the “absolute lack of parity between the Canadian and Mexican borders.”

“Mexicans who come to this country with laser visas have shown their willingness to enter legally when it comes to business matters or leisure travels,” Mr. Cornyn said. “That’s why they deserve the same treatment Canadians get.”

Laser visas –granted on the basis of the recipient’s biometrical information- permit low-risk travelers to cross the border into American territory for three days tops.

Under the current regulations, Mexicans who want to stay longer than 72 hours in the country are required to make an application at the entry port and shell out six bucks apiece.