“As we saw in 2012, just by virtue of having this debate, we alienate the fastest growing portion of the electorate,” Hynes continued. “That could result in us starting the next general election on our heels.”

This question concerns the timing of when to act, not whether to act at all. Many Republicans say the party needs to do something on reform, to repair relations with Latinos — just not this year. But as Matt Lewis observes about the need for GOP action now: “There really is no good time to eat your vegetables.”

Indeed, waiting could make things worse. After Mitt Romney lost the Latino vote by historic margins in 2012 — partly because the GOP primary had forced him to adopt a “self deport” position — Republicans immediately resolved to avoid such rhetoric in the future. But what happens if this debate restarts as the GOP presidential primary gets underway? We could see a rerun.

Worse, if the immigration debate gets tangled up in presidential primary politics, it could get even harder for Congressional Republicans to actually get reform done. If reform fails in 2015 after another contentious debate, of course, Republicans will have only made their Latino problem worse — just as we’re heading into the 2016 presidential election.