Pres. Obama's mixed record on immigration marked by determination, caution, broken promises

There were about 30, all Mexican nationals desperate to avoid deportations that would separate them from their families. Living in Illinois, they appealed for help from their new U.S. senator, Barack Obama.

He turned them down.

It was one of the first times Obama could have used the power of his office to help defer the removal of immigrants who were in the United States illegally. Eight years later, with his powers magnified as president, such a decision is upon him again, this time with the status of millions of immigrants at stake.

That episode in 2006 represents just one early marker in Obama's complicated history with the politics of immigration. The son of a Kenyan immigrant, Obama has been embraced and scorned by immigrant advocates who have viewed him as both a champion and an obstacle to their cause.

Now, perhaps paradoxically, in their anger over his delay of executive actions that potentially could give work permits to millions of immigrants living illegally in this country, these advocacy groups also hold out hope that when Obama does act, he will be aggressive and leave a mark for posterity ...

The 2006 incident with the immigrants seeking to avoid deportation illustrates Obama's past reluctance to act unilaterally and calls attention to the on-and-off relationship he has had with leaders in the Latino community.

As Obama recalls in his book "The Audacity of Hope," a group of Chicago community advocates visited his office seeking legislation to legalize the status of that small group of Mexican immigrants. Obama didn't want to provide special dispensation to a select group and sent an aide to decline the request, leading to a confrontation.

That year, Obama also angered Latino leaders when he voted to erect a 700-mile double fence along the U.S.-Mexico border ...