Pro-immigration support has helped to bring a bill for comprehensive immigration reform closer to passage than ever, but Republican opposition in the House could still pose a threat to its becoming reality.
According to Reuters, despite party leaders urging the GOP to pass immigration reform, House Republicans are still not sold that passing immigration reform would help the GOP make any inroads with Latino voters, whom they lost in historic fashion during the November presidential elections.
"There is no evidence to support this idea that Republicans will pick up a lot of votes if we give amnesty to 11 million folks," said Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan.
Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., echoed those sentiments, adding that he was reluctant to "ratify illegal conduct with my vote."
"We can't afford to give amnesty to every person who wants to illegally cross our borders," he said. "We don't have enough money in our piggy bank. Amnesty begets more amnesty."
With the Republicans in control of the House, such sentiments could be a bad harbinger for supporters of the immigration bill, despite the fact that it was crafted by both Republicans and Democrats from the Senate.
Currently, a panel in the House is coming up with their own version of the bill, one that might include more visas for highly-skilled workers but not a pathway for citizenship for millions of immigrants living illegally in the U.S.
However, that proposal is likely to be shot down by Democrats and several Republicans in the Senate. President Obama himself has stated earlier this year that he would insist on a pathway to citizenship for immigrants in the U.S.
The Republicans have been warned in the last few months by members of their own party and political analysts that there could be a serious backlash to them politically if they don't make more efforts to bridge the gap between the GOP and Latinos.
"We have to have immigration reform to neutralize the charge that we are anti-Hispanic," said Ron Bonjean, a former Republican congressional leadership aide turned political strategist.
"If Republicans refuse to pass comprehensive immigration reform, we will become obsolete as a party within 10 years,"
Even in GOP-controlled states like Arizona, a rising Latino population could change the political complexion of the state within a few years, some experts say.
"Even by the most conservative projections the electorate in Arizona will change very quickly," Rodolfo Espino, a professor of political science at Arizona State University in Tempe, told Bloomberg News. "You can't ignore data."
Yet, Republicans are still on the fence on the subject. Some have even suggested that key Republicans such as Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., could suffer due to their support for the immigration proposal.
As the Huffington Post reported via the Washington Examiner, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, has suggested that Sen. Rubio could even be facing disaster regarding his 2016 presidential bid through his support of the immigration reform bill.
"Rubio seems to be so damaged it will be very difficult for him to recover here in Iowa," Rep. King said. "My perspective is that the immigration issue will sort Republican candidates."
Rep. King has opposed immigration reform vehemently, putting him at odds with Sen. Rubio, who has been very active in the last few months in plugging the bill crafted by the bipartisan senate group he is a part of.
Sen. Rubio, who has not made any intention of running for president public, has been one of the most vocal Republicans recently on the need to pass immigration reform.
"Let's try to fix it," Rubio told conservative radio host Mike Gallagher in April. "Let's try to change it, but to just say, 'let's defeat the whole thing,' I don't think that's a productive approach either."
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