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Washington, Dec 1 -

Today, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) and several of his colleagues sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Chief John Morton. The letter urges the Administration to enforce all immigration laws.

"While the deportation of illegal aliens who are considered dangerous or have committed serious crimes has risen, the number of deportations of other illegal aliens has decreased," said Royce. "The Obama Administration needs to uniformly enforce U.S. immigration laws against both categories of illegal aliens."

In August this year, ICE Chief John Morton issued new guidelines regarding the deportation process for illegal aliens. As a result the deportation of illegal alien who haven’t committed serious crimes have dropped by thirty percent for the fiscal year 2010.

"What kind of a message are we sending our ICE agents? They diligently work to uphold our immigration laws while we weaken our enforcement efforts and allow those here illegally to remain in this country," said Royce.

The letter concludes, "As DHS and ICE contemplate future immigration enforcement, we urge the administration to fully enforce all federal immigration laws. While serious criminals should be prioritized for removal, the administration needs to do more than just enforce a few immigration laws."

Note: To view the full text of the letter, please click here.

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