Obama Admin. And Deportations

Greetings,

I am wondering if anyone can point me to some information as to why the Obama Admin. has been deporting many immigrants. It strikes me as odd why Obama, a self-described liberal who championed immigration reform, has been tough in this area. I also find it odd that not many people discuss this.

A quick Google search gives me extremely partisan explanations; that Obama is following a tradition of racist immigration policy, a continuation of a long American tradition. However, I am more interested in reading explanations that incorporate recent political, social or administrative pressures that the Obama Administration is facing. I suspect that the Obama Adm. knows what he is doing and that aggressive deportation procedures is not what he had in mind while he campaigned in 08.

Is the aggressive deportation a result of Obama wrestling with the recent migrant crisis in Central America? Is it a secret appeal to conservatives ? (Totally pure speculation on my part).

Or is it possible that I have misunderstood the administrative reality behind these deportations (for example, these deportations are not a result of Obama's unilateral decision to follow such an aggressive policy but a complex interplay of congressional, executive and state policies).

In any case, what I want is some information/explanation that are not purely ideological, or broadly historical. I'd like to know what about recent history/recent pressures produced the behavior in the executive in relation to how they tackle immigration.

Thanks for any and all help!