Obama: Deportation statistics ‘deceptive’

President
Obama said statistics that show his administration is on track to
deport more illegal immigrants than the Bush administration are
misleading.

“The statistics are a little deceptive,” he said Wednesday in an online discussion aimed at Hispanic voters.

{mosads}Obama explained
that enhanced border security has led to Border Patrol agents arresting
more people as they cross into the country illegally. Those people are quickly
sent back to their countries, but are counted as deported illegal
immigrants.

He said his administration has focused on deporting
illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes.

“Our enforcement
priority is not to chase down young people who are following all the
other laws,” he said.  

The online talk was hosted by Yahoo, MSN
Latino and AOL Latino/Huffington Post Latino Voice. Users submitted
their questions online for the president.

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Obama renewed his call to provide a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

“We are a nation of laws, but we are also a nation of immigrants,” he said, adding that illegal immigrants applying for citizenship will have to
meet a series of requirements, likely including paying a fine or
learning English.

Critics of a pathway to citizenship decry it as amnesty for immigrants who have broken the law.

The
president acknowledged that the chance of pushing comprehensive
immigration reform through a Republican-controlled House is slim.

“Our key approach is trying to push Republicans back to where they were only a few years ago,” he said.

When
Obama was asked for his thoughts on the eventual Republican
presidential nominee possibly choosing Hispanic Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as his or
her running mate, the president said: “I am absolutely certain that
within my lifetime we will have a Latino candidate for president who
will be competitive and might even win.”

The event was Obama’s
latest effort to engage the public online, but his first
Hispanic-focused online event. He participated in a Twitter town hall in
July, a Facebook town hall in April and a LinkedIn town hall earlier
this week.

— This post was updated at 2 p.m.