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WASHINGTON — Hundreds of thousands of people cross the bridges between Texas and Mexico each day, benefiting both sides of the border. Insufficient resources, attention and increased traffic have led to substantial delays for both Americans and Mexicans, and there is great concern that proposed entry/exit systems may lead to even further delays. As the deadline for implementing the United States Visitor and Immigration Status Indicator Technology (US VISIT) approaches, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn urged federal immigration officials to address the concerns of local leaders quickly—before the new system is in place.Cornyn wrote Asa Hutchinson, under secretary for Border and Transportation Security at the Department of Homeland Security, Monday saying, "it is vital that the department quickly make public its plan to implement comprehensive entry/exit inspections and tracking at land crossings without disrupting legitimate cross-border traffic and trade."Cornyn, a member of the Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, said that our border communities must be kept apprised of department activities, as they are directly impacted by policy and decision making, yet are often the last to know when such decisions have been made or policy implemented."It is essential that a comprehensive, detailed plan be revealed soon, so that it may be thoroughly vetted by all interested parties well before US VISIT must be implemented on our borders," Cornyn said.Hutchinson appeared before the Immigration and Border Security subcommittee in September, and Cornyn took the opportunity to raise the issue of US VISIT, as well as lateral repatriation, another subject of great concern in many border communities across Texas. "While I understand the benefits of the program as a humanitarian effort, it has caused an additional burden to communities on the Texas border," Cornyn said at the hearing. He reminded Sec. Hutchinson that he is "very concerned" about the issues raised by officials along the border. "As you know, DHS’s recent Lateral Repatriation pilot project has raised a number of concerns with Texas border community leaders," Cornyn said. The goal of the US VISIT program is to secure information from travelers to verify their identities and compliance with immigration laws as they arrive and depart along the nation’s border crossings. The system is expected to be installed at all air and sea ports by the end of 2003, at the 50 busiest land crossing points in the U.S. by the end of 2004, and at all ports of entry by the end of 2005. The overwhelming majority of cross border traffic between the U.S. and Mexico moves through the state of Texas.