The Obama administration deported a record-high 392,862 illegal immigrants in the 2010 fiscal year, and another 387,790, the previous record, in 2009.OAKLAND -- Reflecting growing liberal frustration with President Barack Obama's lack of progress on immigration reform, a Democratic congressman from his home state of Illinois is barnstorming through the Bay Area this week to demand the administration slow down its record-high number of deportations.
"He's our champion," said U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., who lands in the Bay Area on Tuesday. "He's the one we want to support. But there's a community of people he made a promise and commitment to, and we want him to keep it."
Obama continues to get high popularity ratings from Latinos and most immigrant groups, but Gutierrez is among a growing chorus of immigrant advocates who have expressed waning enthusiasm as the president launches his re-election campaign. Gutierrez will visit Redwood City, San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco and St. Helena on a three-day tour of the region, part of a national campaign called "Change Takes Courage" that is aimed at pressuring Obama to act urgently on immigration matters.
"The president of the United States decided one morning that there was genocide in Libya and he was going to take the side of Libya and that they needed our help," Gutierrez said. "He didn't ask the Congress. He didn't hold a meeting. He used the discretion he has. He can use that same executive discretion to stop detaining undocumented young people and other vulnerable groups," said Gutierrez, who chairs the immigration task force of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_17916025?nclick_check=1