Abogados de Inmigracion

The Texas lawmakers on hand emerged with varied assessments of Obama's willingness to break a sweat in order to break an impasse on immigration.

"People tried to posture, both on the left and the right," said Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, chairman of the House intelligence committee.

"The bottom line is going to be what results we get out of it, obviously. The president is very much interested in getting this done."

Obama had disappointed many Hispanic advocates by putting immigration reform low on his domestic agenda, far below health care, energy policy and economic stimulus. Thursday's meeting, with key congressional players from both parties, was an attempt to jump-start talks.

Two Texas Republicans at the meeting, Sen. John Cornyn and San Antonio Rep. Lamar Smith, senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, weren't as sure as Reyes about Obama's commitment.

"The risk is that this just turns into just another photo op and nothing really happens," Cornyn said afterward. The administration's agenda is ambitious, he said, "but you begin to wonder if there's a lot of motion, but not a lot of accomplishment."

Progress, he said, "is only going to come if people are willing to roll up their sleeves and get into the details. So far, I don't see a lot of that going on."

Smith questioned Obama's willingness to embrace the security part of the "comprehensive" equation, citing resistance to tighter driver's license standards, for instance.

He also complained that Obama stacked the meeting with "amnesty supporters. ... It would be unwise to reward lawbreakers in any circumstances, particularly with 14 million unemployed citizens and legal immigrants."

White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel conceded that consensus has been elusive: "If the votes were there, you wouldn't need to have the meeting. You'd go to a roll call."

The list of unsolved issues is long. Hardliners want more border security, and crackdowns on undocumented workers and those who hire them.

Others demand a new guest worker program and, perhaps, naturalization or other legal status for the 12 million or so in the country already.