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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. John Cornyn traveled to Laredo and Mission on Saturday to meet with south Texas officials and business leaders. While there, he had the opportunity to hear first-hand, their concerns about the US-VISIT program’s impact on the local economy. He also discussed his legislation to create parity for Laser Visa holders, which would allow them to stay for up to six months rather than the current 72 hours, and his immigration reform bill. "Though it is critical to focus on the border security aspects of our national immigration and border crossing policies, far too little attention has been paid to the impact of these policies on the economy in Texas,” Cornyn said. “Certainly, we must do more to strengthen our national borders and reform our broken immigration system, but we must also place a high priority on the needs of our border communities and the growth of our own economy.” in Mission, Cornyn was joined by Mayor Norberto Salinas, Hidalgo Mayor John David Franz, and McAllen Mayor Leo Montalvo. Mexican officials at the roundtable were Gobernador Enrique Martinez y Martin of Coahuila, Senador Oscar Lubbert of Nuevo Leon, and Romero Flores Caballero, representing the Governor of Nuevo Leon. Sen. Cornyn also hosted a roundtable discussion at the Laredo Development Foundation. He was joined by John Adams, President/CEO of the Laredo Development Foundation, Dr. Ray Keck, President of TAMIU, and David Peña, Vice President for Public Affairs, International Bank of Commerce."The economic realities in the border region demand that we increase the length of stay allowed under the Laser Visa,” Cornyn said of his efforts to achieve parity of Laser Visa holders. “I am committed to helping achieve an entry-exit system that meets our duty of protecting the American people, while facilitating the legitimate traffic and trade along our border.” in July, Cornyn introduced the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2003 (S. 1387), a comprehensive immigration reform to develop a guest worker program and strengthen homeland security efforts at the borders. President Bush is expected to announce a major immigration reform initiative next month before his visit to Mexico to meet with President Vicente Fox. Cornyn co-sponsored the Local Emergency Health Services Reimbursement Act, S.412, in March to help provide funding to localities, states, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers that currently offer uncompensated emergency health care to immigrants. He is also a co-sponsor of the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) Reauthorization Act, S. 460, to assist states whose costs for incarcerating criminal undocumented immigrants continue to exceed federal funding levels. 30 -