A Timeline of Obama's Slow-Motion Play on Immigration

July 16, 2013— -- intro: With immigration reform at a standstill in Congress, President Obama is trying to keep the issue alive by taking his message to Spanish-language media outlets this week.

The president will appear on Univision and Telemundo TV stations that air in Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, New York and New Jersey.

While an immigration reform bill made its way through the Senate this spring, the president stayed mostly silent. But the Republican-controlled House of Representatives isn't in a hurry to pass any type of immigration legislation, so it's a good time for Obama to speak up.

While the president has talked about passing immigration reform since his 2008 campaign, he was slow to get things started. Here's a quick look back at how Obama has handled the issue, so far:

Watch: Obama Steps Up His Immigration Game

quicklist: 1title: "The Promise" - June 2008 text: When unraveling the narrative of Obama on immigration, one moment stands above the rest: "La Promesa," or "The Promise."

In an interview with Univision anchor Jorge Ramos -- one of the most trusted news voices in Spanish-language media -- then-Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said that he would introduce a comprehensive immigration reform bill during his first year in office.

media: 18131996

quicklist: 2 title: Hispanics help usher Obama to victory - November 2008text: Obama outed Republican candidate John McCain in the 2008 presidential election, taking key states like Florida, Colorado and California. Hispanic voters backed Obama by a margin of more than two-to-one.

While immigration clearly wasn't the only issue that mattered to those voters, a strong majority of Hispanics consistently back an overhaul of the country's immigration laws.

media: 19680032

quicklist: 3title: Immigration takes a backseat - January 2010 text: Once the president took office, his first priority was passing a healthcare bill. That fight dominated his agenda, and immigration was practically invisible in Washington.

Obama barely mentioned immigration during his State of the Union speech, one year into his presidency:

"We should continue the work of fixing our immigration system," Obama said. "To secure our borders and enforce our laws and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation."

He did back an effort in Congress to pass the DREAM Act, a bill that would create a pathway to citizenship for certain undocumented young people. But that attempt fell flat when the bill failed to pass the Senate in late 2010.

media: 19680045

quicklist: 4title: A focus on enforcement - January 2009 to present daytext: Immigration reform may have disappeared from the agenda, but the president continued to ramp up enforcement of immigration laws. Throughout his first term in office, he deported roughly 1.6 million people, reaching historic yearly highs for removals.