Obama deportations raise immigration policy questions

[The Northerner]

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama says he backs U.S. immigration reform, announcing last month an initiative to ease deportation policies, but he has sent home over one million illegal immigrants in 2-1/2 years -- on pace to deport more in one term than George W. Bush did in two.

Obama's administration deported about 1.06 million as of September 12, against 1.57 million in Bush's eight years as president.

This seeming contradiction between rhetoric and reality is a key element of debate over U.S. immigration policy, and stakes are high for 2012's presidential election as Obama faces criticism from both conservatives and liberals.

In 2008, 67 percent of Hispanics voted for Obama over Republican John McCain.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/20/us-obama-immigration-idUSTRE78J05720110920