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WASHINGTON

Obama tells hecklers he's taking action on deportations

Gregory Korte
USA TODAY
A protestor holds up a banner as a guest beside her reaches to pull it away as President Obama speaks on immigration reform at the Copernicus Community Center Tuesday in Chicago.

President Obama went to Chicago Tuesday in an effort to rally support for his immigration policies, but his speech was heckled by protesters who complained he hasn't done enough to stop deportations.

The hecklers numbered about three or four in a crowd of 1,800, but they derailed the president's planned remarks for about 20 minutes.

"I understand you might disagree, but we've got to be able to talk honestly about these issues," Obama said. "You're absolutely right that there have been significant numbers of deportations, but what you're not paying attention to is that i just took an action to change the law."

Obama said the immigration executive actions he outlined last week would focus enforcement efforts on criminals instead of hard-working immigrants trying to provide for their families.

When Obama said he was focusing on "felons not families," one protester yelled, "That's a lie."

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But he said the protesters should understand that those who have entered or stayed in the country illegally have also broken the law. "Borders do mean something," he said.

Other protest chants included "not one more, stop deportations" and "there is no justice."

When the women ignored Obama's requests to sit down and listen respectfully, he turned to humor.

"It's good to be back in Chicago" Obama said. "I'm not going to be able to have a conversation with each of you separately."

Follow @gregorykorte on Twitter.

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