Politics of the Immigration Crackdown: More illegal immigrants deported for traffic offenses. Problem for Obama? - CSMonitor.com

A good look at the political dynamics around the deportation actions of the Obama administration.

More illegal immigrants deported for traffic offenses. Problem for Obama? - CSMonitor.com: "The US notched a record number of deportations of illegal immigrants in 2010, according to an analysis of government statistics, with the spike driven primarily by increased deportations of people stopped for drunken driving and other traffic violations. ...

Drunken driving incidents involving illegal immigrants are known to inflame public anger over border security, and the Obama administration's deportation crackdown could be seen as a practical, and potentially popular, response to a public safety issue.

But news of the traffic-related deportations also highlights a political problem for the administration. It risks loss of Hispanics' support for Democrats, even as it seems to do little to persuade those on the right, who insist that President Obama is bent on letting most illegal immigrants off the hook in anticipation of a national amnesty program, that the administration is serious about immigration enforcement."