U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) on June 11 led five Republican members of the Congressional Hispanic Conference in a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) urging it to prioritize enforcement operations for criminal aliens instead of using limited resources to pursue individuals with clean records.
Gonzales, the chairman of the Republican Congressional Hispanic Conference, and his colleagues are seeking updated information from ICE on how many of the approximately 100,000 individuals deported since January have a criminal charge or conviction.
Rep. Gonzales was following up to information he received from ICE in September 2024, when ICE reported that more than 600,000 individuals with criminal charges—more than 65% of whom were convicted of crimes like murder, sexual assault, and smuggling—were on ICE’s docket, residing inside U.S. borders.
While the lawmakers said they agreed that anyone crossing the United States’ borders illegally is subject to U.S. immigration laws, there are levels of priority that must be considered when it comes to immigration enforcement.
“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,” Rep. Gonzales and his colleagues wrote. “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,” the letter said.
The lawmakers are also seeking other specific information from ICE, such as of the estimated 100,000 individuals that were deported this year, how many have ties to criminal enterprises, organizations, or gangs like Tren de Aragua.
The letter was also signed by Congressional Hispanic Conference members U.S. Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Gabe Evans (R-CO), and David Valadao (R-CA).