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Sixteen months after losing the White House and realizing that it must reach out to Latinos, the Republican Party is spending $10million to ramp up Hispanic field operations in key states and flood Spanish-language news media with advertisements opposing the nations health-care law.

In Washington, however, the partys bid to improve its standing among the nations fastest-growing voting bloc continues to be overshadowed by strenuous opposition some say hostility to immigration reform.

Last week, the House Judiciary Committee voted to eliminate the public advocate for immigrants who face hearings at Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And this week, House Republicans overwhelmingly supported a bill called the Enforce Act, which would limit President Obamas use of prosecutorial discretion the legal rationale used to stop deportations of hundreds of thousands of young immigrants.

GOP aides said the bills were not intended as anti-immigration measures but rather to rein in executive overreach by Obama in a broad array of areas, and House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) says that immigration reform is simply on hold. But Democrats pounced on the measures, and immigrant advocates quickly denounced the Republican votes.

The latest machinations within the GOP come at a time of mounting dissatisfaction from Latino groups toward Obama on the issue of deportation. In a meeting Thursday, Obama told members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus that he had ordered the Department of Homeland Security to find ways to conduct deportation policies more humanely, the White House said.

Given Obamas troubles, some Republicans say the party is missing a chance to make inroads with the Hispanic community, which will be critical in 2016.

Weve gone from having a strategy of, Were going to do this, and this is how its going to happen, to now simply saying, Well, perhaps we have a chance to do something, Alfonso Aguilar, executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, said of immigration legislation. And it sounds like, We have no idea, no control, lets just see what happens.

The risks of the current GOP approach were apparent Thursday morning, when Boehner was ambushed by immigration activists while eating breakfast at a Capitol Hill diner. The activists were angered by the Houses embrace of the Enforce Act, , which would potentially limit Obamas ability to stem deportations as he did in 2012 for a group of young immigrants who have come to be known as Dreamers in connection with a different measure.

Speaker Boehner, I just want to ask you why you want to break the dream of the Dreamers, of the students? one woman said.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, that is not very nice, he replied during the exchange, which was caught on video by activists from the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM). Boehner then got up and left. It was the second time in five months that immigration activists had confronted him at the same restaurant. A spokesman for Boehner declined to comment.

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GOP outreach to Latinos overshadowed by conservative opposition to immigration reform

Some of Capitol Hill's top immigration reform advocates on Friday praised President Obama's recent signal that he may ease the pace of deportations, welcoming the reprieve for families who fear separation but warning that the "temporary" fix would not remove the need for more comprehensive reform.

As their impatience about the lack of congressional action on the issue builds, immigration reform proponents have increasingly pressed the White House to act unilaterally to halt deportations of immigrants whose only crime was living in the U.S. without documentation.

The president has insisted that such a fix would be outside the scope of his authority, but during a meeting on Thursday with Hispanic lawmakers at the White House, Mr. Obama announced a review of his administration's deportation policies. According to a White House readout of the meeting, the president said he'd directed the Department of Homeland Security to "do an inventory of the Department's current practices to see how it can conduct enforcement more humanely within the confines of the law."

"The President emphasized his deep concern about the pain too many families feel from the separation that comes from our broken immigration system," the statement added.

On Friday, the president will meet with representatives from organizations that support immigration reform at the White House to consult on the way forward. Among the participants expected at the meeting is Janet Murguia, the head of the National Council of La Raza, which last week branded Mr. Obama the "deporter-in-chief" due to his administration's rapid pace of deportations.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., said after the meeting on Thursday that the White House had been "dormant for too long," but he added, "It is clear that the pleas from the community got through to the president."

And on Friday, Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., the highest-ranking Latino Democrat in the House, said he would "take the president up" on his administration's offer to consult with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) during its review.

The CHC, Becerra said, would push for "as much as we can within the framework of the law -- ways that we can make sure that, while we push to get a vote in the House of Representatives from Republicans, that we also try to protect families that don't deserve to be suffering."

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White House spokesman Jay Carney says potential executive action on deportations is no substitute for comprehensive immigration reform.

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Immigration reform advocates welcome Obama's review of deportations

WASHINGTON -- With prospects for real immigration reform fading, President Obama is yielding to pressure from some of his staunchest allies and looking for ways to act without Congress to ease the suffering caused by deportation.

An Oval Office meeting with three Latino lawmakers brought about a late-night announcement from the White House on Thursday: Mr. Obama is directing his homeland security chief, Jeh Johnson, to review America's deportation program, with an eye toward finding more humane ways to enforce the law without contravening it.

It was unexpected, coming from a president who said as recently as last week that when it came to deportations, he's already stretched his presidential powers to the max.

Preferring a lasting legislative solution for one of the president's top priorities, the White House had wanted to avoid this course, knowing that any steps Mr. Obama takes that are perceived as overreaching will only give Republicans excuses to avoid dealing with immigration. After all, the GOP has already cast Mr. Obama as a president gone wild, citing endless changes to his health care law and his move to allow children brought to the U.S. illegally to stay here.

But what started as ordinary griping from a constituency that's been among Mr. Obama's most loyal has spiraled, with prominent Latino leaders denouncing Mr. Obama as the "deporter in chief." Advocates who had long given Mr. Obama the benefit of the doubt determined that his persistent efforts to push lawmakers to act were not enough - they were done waiting for Congress.

"It is clear that the pleas from the community got through to the president," said Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., adding that the White House had been "dormant for too long."

What is not clear is how far Mr. Obama will go - or what options are even available to mitigate the pain without consent from Congress.

White House officials declined to answer questions Thursday about what the government could do to make deportation more humane or whether there's a timeline for Homeland Security to finish an inventory and report back to Mr. Obama. But immigration activists will likely renew their call for Mr. Obama to halt deportations of parents of children brought to the U.S. illegally, among other steps.

"The president emphasized his deep concern about the pain too many families feel from the separation that comes from our broken immigration system," read a statement from Mr. Obama's press secretary, Jay Carney.

The conversation will start Friday, when Mr. Obama plans to meet with organizations working to pass bipartisan immigration legislation.

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Obama orders review of controversial deportation policies

Article updated: 3/14/2014 9:39 AM

Daniela Gil, 6, cries Tuesday March 11, 2014 as a bus is moved at the privately run Tacoma Northwest Detention Center which houses U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees. Daniela and her family believed her dad, Guillermo Gil was aboard the bus to be deported to Mexico. Guillermo Gil lived in the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant for 20 years before being detained in October of 2013.

Associated Press

WASHINGTON With prospects for real immigration reform fading, President Barack Obama is yielding to pressure from some of his staunchest allies and looking for ways to act without Congress to ease the suffering caused by deportation.

An Oval Office meeting with three Latino lawmakers brought about a late-night announcement from the White House on Thursday: Obama is directing his homeland security chief, Jeh Johnson, to review Americas deportation program, with an eye toward finding more humane ways to enforce the law without contravening it.

It was unexpected, coming from a president who said as recently as last week that when it came to deportations, hes already stretched his presidential powers to the max.

Preferring a lasting legislative solution for one of Obamas top priorities, the White House had wanted to avoid this course, knowing that any steps Obama takes that are perceive as overreaching will only give Republicans excuses to avoid dealing with immigration. After all, the GOP has already cast Obama as a president gone wild, citing endless changes to his health care law and his move to allow children brought to the U.S. illegally to stay here.

But what started as ordinary griping from a constituency thats been among Obamas most loyal has spiraled, with prominent Latino leaders denouncing Obama as the deporter in chief. Advocates that had long given Obama the benefit of the doubt determined that his persistent efforts to push lawmakers to act were not enough they were done waiting for Congress.

It is clear that the pleas from the community got through to the president, said Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., adding that the White House had been dormant for too long.

What is not clear is how far Obama will go or what options are even available to mitigate the pain without consent from Congress.

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Under pressure, Obama vows to examine deportations

WASHINGTON - President Obama is directing top immigration officials to review U.S. deportation practices to see whether they can be carried out "more humanely" while still enforcing the laws on the books.

In an evening meeting with Latino lawmakers, Obama said he still wanted to push a comprehensive immigration reform package but that, in the meantime, he had asked the head of the Department of Homeland Security to run an "inventory" of the agencys practices.

Obama "emphasized his deep concern about the pain too many families feel from the separation that comes from our broken immigration system," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a statement released after the meeting.

Obama made the private announcement at a time when he is coming under increasing pressure from Latino lawmakers and other leaders to ease deportations even if Congress isnt willing to pass an immigration reform package this year.

With hope for an immigration overhaul all but dead for the year, advocates are calling for executive action in increasingly forceful terms. Last week, the head of the countrys largest Latino advocacy group pronounced Obama the "deporter in chief."

Obamas fellow Illinois Democrat Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez echoed the phrase on the House floor, noting that Obama had presided over a record number of deportations. About 2 million people have been ejected from the U.S. since Obama took office.

The idea that Obama might take executive action doesnt come out of the blue. In 2012, Obama announced that he would temporarily stop deporting many immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children.

Advocates have demanded that Obama extend that protection to others, such as the families of those young immigrants. They have also called for changes in other enforcement programs, including cooperative agreements between immigration authorities and local government agencies.

ButObama has said he thinks he has pushed his executive power as far as it will go on the matter. Republican critics have cited Obamas past actions as a reason not to trust him to enforce the law as it stands.

Obama has also told top advisors that, when it comes to tough questions on immigration policy, he wants to hear from the people most likely to be affected.

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Obama orders deportation review, seeks more humane enforcement