President Barack Obama yielded to pressure from his closest allies to review the US programme of deportation for non-citizens.

The president, who has been dubbed "deporter-in-chief" by the Hispanic rights group National Council of La Raza, authorised his Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson (pictured) to look into the programme's working.

Under Mr Obama's presidency almost 2 million people have been removed from the US, splitting apart many families.

Mr Johnson was told to find more humane ways to enforce the law without actually contravening it.

The president has been looking for a lasting legislative solution, but Hispanic members of Congress have grown increasingly impatient with his failure to persuade Republicans to come on board.

After presidential allies such as Illinois Democrat Luis Gutierrez began attacking Mr Obama in the House of Representatives, repeating the "deporter-in-chief" gibe, the president invited Mr Gutierrez and two other Congressional Hispanic Caucus members to the White House on Thursday evening.

Despite having asserted last week that he had already stretched his presidential powers to the max over deportations, he announced this new initiative.

While he remains committed to pressing an overhaul of immigration law on Republicans, Mr Obama will examine other possibilities.

"The president emphasised his deep concern about the pain too many families feel from the separation that comes from our broken immigration system," said his press secretary Jay Carney.

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

Mr Obama had indicated that immigration law reform would be a priority for his second term and a bipartisan agreement seemed possible after Republicans lost the Hispanic vote by a wide margin in the 2012 presidential election.

The Senate passed a comprehensive immigration Bill last June with strong bipartisan support.

This would have created a pathway to citizenship for about 11 million immigrants in the country illegally but would also have tightened border security and established new visa and enforcement programmes.

But the measures stalled in the House of Representatives despite appeals from Republican leaders, business groups, religious organisations and trade unions.