Reid walks immigration tightrope

At a Las Vegas immigration rally in April, Sen. Harry Reid told a cheering audience the Senate would take up comprehensive reform this year. But now it is late June and prospects for meaningful reform are looking much less likely.

Moderate Democrats never were excited to tackle the politically tough issue, and Republicans are not about to play ball on legislation that can only make the Dems look good.

So now, Democrats "are starting to look at alternatives to address the thorny issue while appeasing Hispanic voters," Politico reports in a story this morning.

"Republicans believe anything Reid does on immigration will be dictated more by his home-state politics and less about Senate reality," the paper reported.

If Reid tries to push immigration reform, "it would probably be very unpopular and would probably contribute to a larger Republican victory in November," Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., told Politico.

Even if immigration reform is shelved this year, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., told the paper the issue can still be a winner for Reid given Republican challenger Sharron Angle's support for the Arizona immigration enforcement law.