TV appearance shows immigration hurting Obama among Hispanics.doc

TV appearance shows immigration hurting Obama among Hispanics Jonathan Ernst/Reuters -?President Obama participates in a town hall-style forum to encourage Latino Americans to enroll in Obamacare health insurance plans Thursday at the Newseum in Washington. By?David Nakamura,?Friday, March?7,?5:12?AM?E-mail the writer Whenever President Obama has sought to turn up pressure on Republicans on issues important to Latinos, he has found?reliable partners?in Spanish-language TV networks Univision and Telemundo. On Thursday, Obama came calling again — but this time, his partners became adversaries. More from PostPolitics Senate rejects further revamp of how Pentagon handles sex assualt Ed OKeefe?3:05?AM?ET Emotionally-charged issue is a familiar one to senators who’ve been aggressively lobbied by two female colleagues. Graham’s error on defense spending Glenn Kessler?MAR?6 Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) claims defense spending has been 5 percent of the economy even in times of peace. Black caucus wants Issa stripped of committee chairmanship Wesley Lowery?12:35?AM?ET The battle over a turned-off microphone continues. Read more Obama was appearing at?a town-hall-style event at the Newseum?to encourage the Latino community to sign up for health-insurance policies under the Affordable Care Act. But the hosts, Jose Diaz-Balart of Telemundo and Enrique Acevedo of Univision, turned their sights on another issue: immigration. “Your reputation has been tarnished among Latinos over deportations,” Acevedo said, referring to the administration’s removal of nearly 2 million immigrants who were in the country illegally. “How can you ask the Latino community to trust you?” “I would challenge the premise,” Obama shot back testily as he sat onstage before a live audience of 150. Citing his work on immigration reform, affordable housing and health care, the president added: “I think the community would understand that I’ve got their back and I’m fighting for them.” The sharp exchange