When two Republicans, Sam Johnson and John Carter, deserted a bipartisan immigration reform group this month, the death knell did not sound for immigration reform. One group may have collapsed, but 84 House Republicans have publicly voiced support for granting some type of legal status to the 11 million immigrants here in the country illegally, and 20 others have said they would be willing to consider it—many more than what most media reports suggest. 

Other tallies only account for members who have explicitly endorsed a path to citizenship. America’s Voice, a liberal immigration group, lists 26 Republicans who support “immigration reform and citizenship,” leaving out the dozens of others who would support giving undocumented workers legal status short of citizenship.