they will soon decide if the teamwork paid off. and the question is, what are they going to do with all of those origami. thank you for watching aljazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. and "inside story" is next. >> it president obama barack obama the deporter in chief or an ally in the latino struggle for immigration reform. how you answer that could have huge implications fo. this is the "inside story." >> hello, i'm ray suarez.

in 2008 and again in 2012 president obama campaigned on a promise to reform america's current immigration system and laws. he won a solid majority of latino voters in his first race and three out of four in his run for second term. while supporting change and efforts of allies in house and senate the president has also run an administration that has deported a record number of people who have come to the united states to live and work illegally. the president was an attempting a straddle, tough enforcement to reassure reluctant republicans who accused the president of being soft on illegal immigration while trying to get a new law passed. in segments of the far flung community of activists working to change the laws patience appears to be in declining supply as the tensions and expulsions continue with no realistic chance for comprehensive reform.

>> if we get immigration reform across the finish line and it is there just within our grasp, if we can get folks in washington to go ahead and do what needs to be done. >> reporter: with comprehensive immigration reform so far out of reach of his administration, president obama is having trouble with both friends and foye foe--both friends and foes these days. >> while talking about immigration in san francisco last november, the president was interrupted by a young man angry over his immigration policy. and as the president listened the man said he was separated from his family as were thousands of other s from immigrants families. and then the man started shouting. [ yelling ] >> thank you, all right. >> reporter: the president listened, and then said. >> now what you need to know when i'm

speaking, the president of the united states, and i come to this community, is that if in fact, i could solve all these problems without passing laws in congress, then i would do so. but we're also a nation of laws. that's part of our tradition. >> reporter: that's the heart of the problem for the president: he's caught between reform efforts and laws he must enforce. now even those who adamantly supported the president are calling him deporter in chief. unless there is a change in policies sometime in early april president obama will reach a different milestone. two million deportations since he became president in 2009. president obama has removed more illegal immigrants from the united states than any of his press cedars. according to immigration and customs enforcement in 2013 alone there were 360,000 individuals

deported. the numbers are nine times higher than 20 years ago. earlier this year al jazeera's fault lines went behind the numbers in its documentary. >> fault lines went behind 9 border to see the impact of depour deportation communities. we heard that i.c.e. has been operating a new program in new orleans called ca ri. it is focused on immigrants who pose a serious threat to the community. >> is there a suspicion about what these people are doing? this isn't associated with any other crime? >> from what we've heard from the testimonies we're gathering, literally people will, the i.c.e. agents will go into apartment complexes, bible studies, anyone who looks latinos. sometimes they ask questions.

sometimes they handcuff people, fingerprint them and if they have minor criminal record, they immediately take them into custody. >> reporter: joining forces with a national anti-deportation movement called "not one more deportation." organized civil disobedience is one tactic used on the issue. >> reporter: pressure upon the president has been great. from the hispanic caucus in congress and the communities who voted overwhelmingly in support of the president in 2012 they're impatient for change and calling for the moratorium on depou depourtation. mr. obama has asked the homeland security for a solution. >> what the president has asked secretary johnson to do is conduct a review the practices to ensure within the confines of the law we're carrying out these

policies in the most humane way possible because he's cognizant of the pain families who have been separated are feeling as a result of deportations. >> reporter: for their part republicans have shown little interest in immigration reform. legislation from the senate side that would have created a path towards citizenship and increase border security has met resistence in the house. more over republican members of the house drafted a bill that would allow congress to sue the president for failing to enforce immigration laws. according to a pew research law americans are divided, split down the middle, 45% to 45% on whether or not deportation of the undocumented is a good idea or a bad one. meanwhile, half of those surveyed believe new immigration legislation is extremely important. >> sometimes when i talk to immigration advocates, they wish i could just by pass congress and change the law myself.

but that's not how democracy works. what we really need to do is to keep up the fight to pass genuine comprehensive reform. that's the ultimate solution to this problem. that's what i'm committed to doing. >> reporter: president obama has said he will not suspend deportations because he can't legally do so. but he's also said he won't expand the protections he put in place in 2012 for people who came here illegally as children acting within the confines of the law and with limited executive power the president's hope of comprehensive reform and change in the lives of millions of undocumented immigrants lies on the left of a reluctant congress. >> the he's deported more undocumented americans over 2 million people than any president before him. that has many latinos and

liberal activists furious. meanwhile house republicans remain opposed to the comprehensive immigration reform bill passed by a bipartisan majority in the senate. has the president anglerred his base for very little pay back. if reform is stalled in congress what is his next move? joining us to discuss these questions is bill mcmorris, a staff writer. fl flor la. this must be a tough time for those organizations that backed not only abraham's election but re-election, and have seen so little traction on this issue in the midst of deportation. >> you know very well what i'm talking about. >> i know what you're talking about. it is a tough time.

it is a tough time because one of the principle issues that drove a massive latino turnout in first the presidential election and the second one has been immigration reform. we believe that we've delivered for the president and that the president has yet to pass immigration reform. it's a tough time. we're so close to getting this done. we have a bill passed in the senate. we have democratic minority in the house saying they're ready to go. and we have even the speaker of the house who says he's in favor of the immigration reform. what's the problem and why can't we get this done? that's what is so frustrating. >> is this a predicament that house republicans are not worried about? >> i would say that house republicans are not worried about it at paul they don't trust the president to act in their interest on this issue.

they don't particularly trust the leadership that speaker boehner has brought to this issue. there really is an united front of republicans who are going to make sure that this type of legislation does not pass. >> hasn't the president proven himself in this realm by what he has done both on the border and in the enforcement realm over the past five years? >> well, the enforcement realm, this is certainly true. but if you look at the immigration bill put forward in the senate, it says those who have been deported, that do not have criminal records are allowed back into the country, and can qualify on the fast track to citizenship the same way that any who is currently living in the country and has yet to be deported is. he's tried to have it most ways and it has hurt him

in base that he has drown support from. >> do you agree with bill? you probably don't agree with bill on pain other things. >> i don't think the president's enforcement of policies on immigration has not been helpful. where i disagree with bill is this notion that what the president does say. he doesn't say let's brang all those who have been deport: he's saying let's bring back those who have immediate relatives and are green cardholders, he's looking at family unit, not the president but senate bill looking at bringing families together because they've been hurt, separated due to enforcement policies. >> citizen children have had non-citizen parents deported in many cases. >> absolutely. there are 5200 children in foster care because of the president's enforcement first, deportation policies.

>> and for many the dreamers were the easiest sell, the low hanging fruit. here we are in year six of the obama administration, and not even that was able to get done? >> i think if we're looking at legislation, you know, for us we have been focused all of last year in passing and pushing the legislation, right. we needed a legislative solution because that's really the only permanent solution and the only way to get people on a not fast track to citizenship, because it's 13 years of hard obstacles to be able to reach that citizenship at some point. but while we were focused on really first getting dreamers to come out, and then getting families to come out because we needed to show as dreamers, as undocumented immigrant use we are who we are today because of our parents, and if america got to know who we are, and the work that we led for many years by coming out, sharing our stories,

that we also believe that america would welcome and accept our parents. and other undocumented people in the community. oftentimes people can act from a place of fear and ignorance. if you don't know who these people are, if you understand that we are your neighbors, your daughter's friends. my mom is probably your housekeeper, then we really can't have a conversation about how to solve this in america today. >> we're going to take a short break. when we come back we'll talk about the mechanics of something as large as complex as immigration reform and also the politics. this is inside story.

>> welcome back to inside story. i'm ray suarez. on this edition of our program we're talking about immigration, prospects for reform , piecemeal or comprehensive have stalled in congress and are unlikely to

move in this midterm election year. president obama is in a mind. immigration reform has long been a stated goal, but parts of the latino base is angry. a flash point is the fact that the president has deported more illegal immigrants than any administration in history. and lorella, we finished the last segment with you, but i want to continue that conversation. are there ports that we might call the obama coalition that are part of breaking off? they've had it that their patience is exhausted on this issue? >> united we dream, i think dreamers broadly seeking, undocumented youth, i'm not sure that we call ourselves part of the obama coalition, but are we disappointed for his lack of initiativ leadership? absolutely. why are we deporting people who are potentially eligible for a senate bill or house immigration bill, those are the questions

that we're asking ourselves. we want a president to be bold. we want him to be courageous. we want him to take bold action within the confines of his legal authority, and we believe there is a lot more he can do. the question is why hasn't he done it already. >> bill, there has been ferocious push back by republicans on selective enforcement yet the numbers would point to an administration that has no hesitation at all sending people out of the country. >> well, i think with the obama administration, i think he's misreeding conservatives on this issue. when it comes to enforcement he's focusing solely on deportation. i don't think you'll find too many republicans who want to deport 11 million people who want the government going house to hous house to get every illel immigrant out of the country. what they're really asking of the president, senate and congress is to maintain strict border enforcement, stop the

flow of immigration into this country with illegal border crossings. we have not seen as much progress in getting a wall built or measures that would help stem the tide of illegal immigration. that's where the president would have an opportunity to mak make a compromise. don't focus on deportation, but focus on stemming the tide of new immigrants coming into the country. >> well, you heard lorella and bill, has the president ended up pleasing no one? >> yes, i think that's true. he has tried to be tough on immigration, showing that he's willing to enforce the law, create the space, something that i heard from the white house, in order to get comprehensive immigration reform done. despite republicans assuring him if he enforced the law first, they would come in and

work on the immigration . they have not done so. i'm not sure they ever intended to do so. i do believe those who say they want to pass comprehensive immigration reform. they know its important not only for our immigrants but the economy. it will take tough leadership from the president. tough leadership from the speaker and everyone willing to work together to forge this bipartisan coalition. we think it's too early to throw in the towel. we think we need to get this done. >> here is the president trying to keep this straddled, keeping on the pressure using the law as it is, and talking about more selective use of his own discretion and his deapartments own discretion. can he keep everybody on side and get that--thread that needle? >> i think he can. honestly i have to give him credit.

i think he has handled this issue as well as he could given the politics at the moment. he's done quite well and just look at the state of the union when to our dismay in some respects he didn't mention immigration reform that much, but we was giving the speaker, giving republicans a chance to do it their own way, come to the same table that everyone else is already at, and pass the bills that they've been talking about. if they do that, then we've got something to work with, and i think the president will help us take it the rest of the way. >> i want to comment on something here. a lot of people think its important to continue to give political space to the president and house republicans for there to be a solution. i disagree with that perspective. giving them space hasn't gotten us anything so far. 2014, almost a year after the senate passed the bill it's not time to give anyone space. republicans have made the choice not to put the immigration bill

on the floor for a vote. are there votes in the house? yes, why isn't the bill being brought up for vote. >> because the people who want that to go forward don't control the agenda in any way. >> absolutely. that's the problem. it's a moment of leadership for speaker boehner, and he has failed over and over again. they have taken 51 votes on obamacare. that's what they've done in the house. they've taken two votes to defund the funding, to take away the funding for childhood arrival that gives dreamers reprieve from deportation and work permit. those are the votes that the rinse have taken in the last year. last week they voted on the enforce act to curtail the president's discretionary powers. they're giving us no indication of real leadership on this issue, we will make sure that the community understands that. now when we shift to the president and we look at what he can do, and what he hasn't done on the area of deportation and

affirmative administration relief, it's also a disappointment. in the past three weeks there has been increased grassroots pressure where the headlines are saying something else today. the headlines are saying the president has the authority to act and he must do that today. and frankly the pillars of support are beginning to fall down. senator hearken, schumer, menendez and derby came out calling on the president to stop the deportation of people with immediate relatives. and you saw the same, the president of the nclr came out, there is a lot of, washington is picking up with the grassroots because we've been making it very clear for the last year the president can act, and he ought to do that today. not wait the next three months, six months for there potentially to be a legislative solution to this issue. >> we're going to take a short break. when we come back we'll hear from you, bill mcmorris on what the near-term and long-term risks are for republicans. stay with us.

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>> welcome back to inside story. i'm ray suarez. president obama has ordered the department of homeland security to conduct a review of the administration's policy on deportation. on this program we're discussing the political bind facing the president and his party in this midterm election year. you heard brent and lorella describe the landscape. are there some down side risks for republicans not necessarily in the near term this november, but in the longer term when the dust finally clears when we do have some kind of reform of the immigration laws. are there going to be long memories not only in washington but the rest of the country? >> i don't believe this is the issue that republicans are going

to lose latino voters on in the furor even in the short term. when you look at latino voters, and you look at the full number of issues they care about, they're much more alienated from the republican party than they are with immigration. most latino voters do not place a high value on immigration policy. >> where does immigration fit in the constellation of concerns in this very large and growing community? >> i think it's a big issue. it may not be number one, bill has a point there. those are probably your top issues, but immigration is the litmus, and especially the way people talk about it. the position is a pragmatic level and then the way you talk about it. if you go back to the republican primary for this last election cycle, and you saw the way people talked about

electric fences when you touch it, it's electrocutes. that set puts off latino voters. >> lor ella, give me your elevator pitch because a lot of americans are still fresh to this issue. they haven't thought it through, what a reform would look like. what's something that they could live with would look like. give me your best shot as to why it's a good idea for you to be allowed to stay in the country and the members of united we dream. >> we've grown up here. my mom came here 15 years ago and started cleaning homes. started her own business that way. and because of my mom i went to college on a free ride.

because of my academics, and it is because of the people that we are who we are. i don't want to make a case of why we're in the country. but for our parents because they're the one who is sacrificed, they left their common language and culture and took the risk to come here so we would have greater access to community. so we could be safe. plane people fled their homes because of domestic violence and other issues. that's why we're here. america has invested in us. we're contributing to the economy. my mom is a taxpayer. and she cleans homes. and so people have lived in the shadows way too long. the last time that we saw an immigration reform bill that took care of--that really addressed the issue of people being unauthorized and living in the shadows was 1986.

today we're in 2014 there are 11 million undocumented americans who are american, but the missing the nine-digit social security number. we're building america with the viewers, with the people who are watching the show. we are your colleagues. you may know or you may not know that we're undocumented. i think america is there. there is wide support for immigration reform bill. there is wide support for what the president did for dreamers and the childhood arrivals program. i believe that there is only a small minority in america that doesn't believe that this is a top priority. >> lor lla, brent, bill, thank you for being with us today. that brings us to the end of this edition of "inside story." thanks for being with us. in washington, i'm ray suarez.

welcome to al jazeera america. these are the stories we are following for youer you. >> we are imposing sanctions or more senior officials of the russian government. the president announces more sanctions on russia as the u.n.'s top leader plays peacemaker with vladimir putin. satellite images bringing new hope for the missing malaysian airliner. and the story of an army general