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From January 2007 to March 2010, there were 709 letters to the Ministers of Public Safety and/or CIC regarding detentions and removals issues by individuals, organizations and politicians. Of these, 611 (86 percent) were related to specific removal cases, 9 percent were for broad-based causes (e.g., faster removals of people involved in organized crime, cease removing people persecuted for their involvement in certain religi[69]ous groups), and the remaining 5 percent were on other topics (e.g., requests for information on removal policies, the deportation process, and border security generally). The content of these letters revealed that the public does not fully understand the removals processes, and the CBSA's interdependence on the processes of other agencies (such as CIC, IRB and DFAIT). Overall, these letters revealed public disapproval with Canada's removals processes. At one end of the spectrum were letters denouncing the removals process as too lenient, especially in cases where convicted criminals remained in Canada for years prior to their deportation. At the other end of the spectrum were letters objecting to cases where law-abiding, long-standing residents of Canada were removed after having overstayed their visas.
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