Under Pressure, President Requests Study on Deportations

Under increasing pressure from Hispanic constituencies, President Obama announced yesterday that he has directed the Director of the Department of Homeland Security to perform a review of the deportation system in an attempt to identify more humanitarian methods of immigration enforcement.  While the request itself means little–it is unlikely such a review will result in meaningful changes in the deportation process–the significance of the announcement is that the White House felt compelled to do something, anything, in an attempt to acknowledge and quell the increasing anger that Hispanic groups are expressing over the record numbers of deportations that have occurred under Obama’s administration.   The President has thus far withstood efforts to pressure him into taking executive steps on deportations in the absence of Congressional  action, but yesterday’s announcement, rather than quieting the rising voices, is likely to provide fuel to the fire.