In a rare move, a Texas Republican is calling on President Donald Trump to walk back his mass deportation program to focus on violent criminals.
U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales is “urging the Trump administration to prioritize enforcement operations for violent offenders, convicted criminal aliens, and national security threats instead of using limited resources to pursue individuals who do not constitute an immediate threat to public safety.”
Gonzales, who chairs the Republican Congressional Hispanic Conference, led five of his colleagues in a letter urging Trump to prioritize immigration enforcement actions, according to a news release from Gonzales’ office.
Gonzales, R-San Antonio, who represents a portion of El Paso, was joined by U.S. Reps. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg, Nicole Malliotakis, R-Staten Island, David Valadao, R-Hanford, Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Miami, and Gabe Evans, R-Fort Lupton.
The letter also requests updated information on how many of the roughly 100,000 people rounded up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and deported since January have a criminal charge or conviction.
ICE revealed to Gonzales’ office that more than 600,000 individuals with criminal charges were on its docket and residing within the United States — more than 65%, the agency reported, have convictions for murder, sexual assault, or smuggling.
“We strongly agree that convicted criminal aliens — smugglers, murderers, and sex offenders — pose an immediate threat to our homeland security, and we are committed to making sure you have the resources to find, prosecute, and deport them as soon as possible …,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter, adding that there are still “levels of priority that must be considered when it comes to immigration enforcement.”
The letter comes as Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts continue to ensnare legal residents and immigrants attempting to attend legal hearings. Raids at workplaces are also now part of ICE’s efforts to boost the number of immigrants arrested and targeted for rapid deportation.
While it’s rare for a Republican to question Trump’s actions in the current hyper-partisan environment around Washington, Gonzales is no stranger to taking unpopular stances among Republicans — he’s previously called colleagues “scumbags” for voting against providing aid to U.S. allies and has criticized hardline border proposals from his colleague, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin.
“Every minute that we spend pursuing an individual with a clean record is a minute less that we dedicate to apprehending terrorists or cartel operatives,” they continued. “We stand by President Trump to ensure our border security is restored. However, in order to truly claim success, we need to give absolute priority to every violent offender and convicted criminal illegal alien present in our nation.”
“Diverting limited resources to other objectives puts our national security at risk.”
Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: GOP U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales urges Trump to focus deportations on violent criminals
Reporting by Adam Powell, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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