Obama Dismisses ‘Deporter-In-Chief’ Comments, Says Latinos Know He’s ‘Got Their Back’

In a televised interview hosted by anchors from Telemundo and Univision on Thursday, President Barack Obama dismissed the idea that growing enmity from Latino- and immigrant-advocate groups might reflect declining support for his policies in those communities and urged Hispanics to sign up for health insurance under the exchanges before the March 31 deadline. The Washington Post notes that Univision anchor Enrique Acevedo told Obama his reputation had been “tarnished among Latinos over deportations” which have totaled almost 2 million over his presidency, adding, “How can you ask the Latino community to trust you?”

“I would challenge the premise,” Obama responded, adding that his efforts for comprehensive immigration reform (now all but dead in 2014) and affordable housing and health care had benefited those communities. “I think the community would understand that I’ve got their back and I’m fighting for them.” He also dismissed National Council for La Raza President Janet Murguía’s comments at an awards dinner on Tuesday night in which she accused him of being the “deporter-in-chief”, countering, “I am the champion-in-chief of comprehensive immigration reform”.

Murguía called the tally of deportations “a staggering number” which “leaves behind it a wake of devastation for families across America.” She was joined at the dinner by Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, who called on Obama to suspend deportations until a reform was passed, calling the current deportation system an “outrage and…a tragedy." MSNBC writes that Obama repeated his earlier claim that he does not have the legal authority to do so, saying he’s “constrained in terms of what I am able to do….I cannot ignore those laws any more than I can ignore any of the other laws that are on the books.”