Deportations down 20 percent, fewest since 2007

President Barack Obama has quietly slowed deportations by nearly 20 percent while delaying plans to act on his own potentially to shield millions of immigrants from expulsion.

The Homeland Security Department is on pace to remove the fewest number of immigrants since 2007, according to an analysis of its figures by The Associated Press ...

The removal figures, contained in weekly internal reports marked "Official Use Only," reflect the marked decline in deportations even as Obama has delayed announcing what changes he will make to U.S. immigration policies. Immigration advocates widely expect Obama to reduce the number of immigrants who are deported, a particularly sensitive issue in many states ...

As of early September, only 319 of more than 59,000 immigrants who were caught traveling with their families have been returned to Central America ...