As expected, immigration reform is moving more slowly through Congress than initially intended.

While supporters of comprehensive immigration reform had hoped to have a bill passed and signed by President Obama before the end of the summer, that won't be happening. The House of Representatives has left for its August recess and won't be back in session until Sept. 9.

But while representatives are out of town, that doesn't mean the behind-the-scenes politicking has come to a standstill. Indeed, advocates on both sides of the issue are continuing to rally support and win votes.

Business and religious groups have, on the whole, sided with reform advocates. Both causes would benefit from the legalization of more than 11 million undocumented immigrants, filling both the applicant pool and congregations.

In a testament to the broad coalition of support cobbled together by immigration reform advocates, even many conservative Republicans are coming around, particularly those eyeing a run at the presidential nomination in 2016.

Former vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan, still a representative from Wisconsin recently came out in support of the path to citizenship laid out in the immigration reform proposal.

That is the main source of contention between the moderate and conservative wings of the Republican Party. Many Republicans, looking for an issue on which to take a stand, have chosen immigration reform as their hill, and their flags are planted.

Leading the charge are Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho, both staunch opponents of granting citizenship to undocumented immigrants. Recently there have also been rumblings from Marco Rubio against reform, though he is one of the architects of the original Senate bill.

That all of these men are at least part-Hispanic points to demographic shift Republicans are contending with. After losing 71 percent of the Latino vote in last year's presidential election, Republicans are searching for a way to make inroads with the Hispanic community, and many of them believe immigration reform is the ticket.

But Latino lawmakers like Rubio, Cruz and Labrador are betting their fellow Hispanics won't turn on them, even if they oppose reform. That may turn out to be true, as many Latinos would have a hard time turning down the opportunity to vote for a Hispanic presidential candidate.

Of course, that's assuming other Republicans don't tarnish the party's image before then. Rep. Steve King of Iowa recently said 99 percent of undocumented immigrants are drug smugglers. While most of the rest of the party backpedaled from his remarks, the situation is reminiscent of the parade of anti-woman invective coming from Republican candidates during last year's election.

Still, lawmakers and lobbyists have five weeks to ponder the situation before they're on the spot again, -- plenty of time for new deals and concessions while the country continues to wait.