A push by House Republicans to reverse President Obama’s executive action on immigration has put their vulnerable Senate counterparts in a tough electoral spot.

The GOP faces a much tougher 2016 map, and Hispanic groups are warning of political fallout over the issue of deportations at a time when the party is trying to win the White House and defend its new Senate majority.

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Worried about their party’s political fate, centrist Senate Republicans are balking at the prospect of a messy fight with the president.

“I would be concerned if the funding restrictions affected the ability of the Department of Homeland Security to carry out its vital functions,” said Sen. Susan Collins Susan Margaret CollinsSenate Republicans face tough decision on replacing Ginsburg Democratic senator calls for eliminating filibuster, expanding Supreme Court if GOP fills vacancy What Senate Republicans have said about election-year Supreme Court vacancies MORE (R-Maine). “Another way to challenge the president might be in court.”

She cited the successful challenge against President Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board.

Two other centrists, Sens. Mark Kirk Mark Steven KirkLiberal veterans group urges Biden to name Duckworth VP On the Trail: Senate GOP hopefuls tie themselves to Trump Biden campaign releases video to explain 'what really happened in Ukraine' MORE (R-Ill.) and Dean Heller Dean Arthur HellerOn The Trail: Democrats plan to hammer Trump on Social Security, Medicare Lobbying World Democrats spend big to put Senate in play MORE (R-Nev.), expressed reservations with the House effort last week.

“In general I want to make sure we run the government and a key part of government is homeland security, especially what happened in France,” Kirk said. “In the end, cooler heads should prevail and we shouldn’t defund critical security infrastructure.”

Kirk faces a tough reelection next year, as do Sens. Kelly Ayotte Kelly Ann AyotteBottom line Bottom line Bottom Line MORE (R-N.H.), Ron Johnson Ronald (Ron) Harold JohnsonThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - White House moves closer to Pelosi on virus relief bill Second GOP senator to quarantine after exposure to coronavirus GOP-led panel to hear from former official who said Burisma was not a factor in US policy MORE (R-Wis.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Marco Rubio Marco Antonio RubioFlorida senators pushing to keep Daylight Savings Time during pandemic Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll Intelligence chief says Congress will get some in-person election security briefings MORE (R-Fla.).

But conservatives such as Sen. Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzSenate Republicans face tough decision on replacing Ginsburg Cruz: Trump should nominate a Supreme Court justice next week Renewed focus on Trump's Supreme Court list after Ginsburg's death MORE (R-Texas) are warning leaders not to shy away from a showdown.

Cruz has pressed GOP colleagues to keep their promises during the 2014 midterm campaign and not fund what he calls a “lawless and illegal amnesty.”

“[Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE [R-Ky.] is caught between Collins and Cruz,” said a senior Senate Democratic aide who predicts this would be the first of many instances of House conservatives forcing Senate Republicans into an awkward position.

House Republicans are expected to add language to a $40 billion bill funding the Department of Homeland Security that would reverse Obama’s 2012 executive order stopping deportations of immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children and stayed out of trouble with the law.

They also plan to add an amendment halting Obama’s November 2014 order, which expanded protection from deportation to as many as 5 million people.

The Democratic aide said repealing the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program would be an uncomfortable vote for several Republicans.

“Dreamers are the dividing line in the GOP,” the aide said, referring to the immigrants who were addressed in the 2012 order.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch Orrin Grant HatchBottom line Bottom line Senate GOP divided over whether they'd fill Supreme Court vacancy MORE (R-Utah) introduced an early version of the Dream Act in 2001, which would have provided residency under criteria similar to DACA . It attracted the support of several Republicans, including Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley Charles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleySenate Republicans face tough decision on replacing Ginsburg What Senate Republicans have said about election-year Supreme Court vacancies Biden says Ginsburg successor should be picked by candidate who wins on Nov. 3 MORE (R-Iowa).

Senior Democratic aides say the House bill will not come close to passing the 60-vote threshold required to move major legislation in the Senate. The aide said Sen. Joe Donnelly Joseph (Joe) Simon DonnellyEx-Sen. Joe Donnelly endorses Biden Lobbying world 70 former senators propose bipartisan caucus for incumbents MORE (Ind.), another centrist, is the only Democrat who might cross party lines and vote for it.

Pro-immigrant advocacy groups warn that voting for the House bill would damage the Republican Party’s effort to mend its image with Hispanic voters.

“At the beginning of the year, Sen. McConnell said the top priority for the GOP was not to look scary. Maybe in the House they missed the memo,” said Clarissa Martínez-De-Castro, deputy vice president of research, advocacy and legislation at the National Council of La Raza.

With the House bill headed for certain defeat in the Senate, some GOP strategists predict it may not even get a vote in the upper chamber because it would needlessly imperil incumbents facing reelection.

“I don’t think they’ll vote on the House version. They’ll probably make some minor changes to it,” said Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist.

O’Connell predicted that Sens. Rand Paul Randal (Rand) Howard PaulSecond GOP senator to quarantine after exposure to coronavirus GOP senator to quarantine after coronavirus exposure The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by National Industries for the Blind - Trump seeks to flip 'Rage' narrative; Dems block COVID-19 bill MORE (R-Ky.) and Rubio, two potential 2016 presidential contenders, would approach the debate cautiously for fear of offending either conservative primary voters or Hispanics in the general election.

Cruz, by contrast, has embraced the issue as a way to fire up the conservative base and distinguish himself from GOP leaders, who are leery of a standoff with Obama that could lead to shutting down the Department of Homeland Security.

A senior GOP aide said Senate Republicans would do everything they can to pass the House legislation. But if that effort fails, they will explore proposals that can win over a handful of Democrats.

Johnson, the new chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, is leading the effort.

The Wisconsin Republican, who may be the chamber’s most endangered GOP incumbent, said Monday that his party will make a full-throated argument for the House approach but will not let the dispute cause a shutdown of the critical department.

“The fact of the matter is that it’s difficult to deal with a president that is operating outside the bounds of his constitutional privileges, and until the courts get involved, it’s going to be difficult to stop him,” he said.

Johnson said one option would be “to attempt to use the appropriations process” to move policy riders that would “prevent President Obama and his agencies from engaging in certain actions that are actually funded through the normal appropriations process.

“We’re still exploring what those things will be,” he said.

Defunding Obama’s executive orders is a tricky task because U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which has authority over them, is almost entirely self-funded by immigration application fees.

A GOP aide said Senate Republicans could bring forward their own bill funding the Department of Homeland Security and offer the House version as an amendment, which gives some Republicans freedom to vote “no.”

Outside groups will wage an intense lobbying campaign to pressure Republicans and Democrats to back the House’s funding bill.

Roy Beck, the president and CEO of NumbersUSA, a group that advocates for limiting immigration, predicted the House bill or a version of it would reach the Senate floor for a vote.

“We’re going to put a lot of lobbying pressure on Republicans,” Beck said. “In the end, Republicans will stand up and say Congress is an equal partner in government.”