With President Obama on an historic foreign trip, a Supreme Court nomination pending and massive health care and climate change bills both percolating on Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) managed to make news on a completely separate front yesterday -- immigration.

At a press conference with Hispanic leaders to tout Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court candidacy, Reid said a comprehensive immigration bill is "going to happen this session, but I want it this year, if at all possible." Reid called it one of his three top priorities this year, along with health care and energy.

The Nevadan's comments certainly delivered headlines. Politico: "Harry Reid wants immigration bill this year." Dow Jones Newswire: "Reid Says Will Fight For Immigration Reform This Year." The Hill (atop the front page): "Immigration is added atop heavy agenda."

Appearing alongside a group of leaders for whom immigration is a top priority, Reid probably got exactly the coverage he wanted. But headlines aside, is immigration reform really likely to hit the Senate floor this year? No.

First, consider everything else the chamber has on its plate. This week, Reid himself ran through the crowded schedule on the Senate floor. Before the July 4th recess, the Senate hopes to pass a tobacco regulation bill and the supplemental spending measure conference report. After that break, the chamber returns for five weeks until the August recess. During that work period, Reid said, "We have appropriations bills we want to work on. We have health care that will likely be worked on during that period of time. We have the DOD authorization, which is extremely important." He added that the chamber would work and have votes Monday-Friday during that "very long, hard work period."

After August, all the Senate has to do is keep moving all of the appropriations bills and work on both health care and energy, both of which will take up siginificant time. And of course there is the Sotomayor nomination, which will suck up much of the political oxygen whenever it finally gets votes in committee and on the floor. With so much already on the agenda, it's hard to see how and when the Senate could devote itself to immigration, which proved to be incredibly difficult and contentious in the last Congress and wouldn't be any easier this time around.

Look again at Reid's comments yesterday. He said he'd like to do immigration this year "if at all possible." Doesn't sound like the firmest of commitments. And more importantly, the White House seems in no rush to move a measure in 2009 either. Back in April, the New York Times got attention for reporting on a new immigration push by the administration. But the story just said that Obama "plans to begin addressing the country's immigration system this year." Not that he plans to sign a bill this year, only that he'll "begin addressing" it. The White House is scheduled to host a big immigation meeting June 17 (postponed from June 8 ), but as an administration spokesman told Roll Call, "The meeting is intended to launch a policy conversation, with the hope of beginning the debate in earnest later this year."

It's only June, so if both the president and the Senate Majority Leader are already unwilling to say immigration will move this year, it won't move this year.

UPDATE 4:10 PM ET: Reid spokesman Jim Manley said today that he believed an immigration bill could actually pass the Senate this year, though he acknowledged the calendar was tight. "It's an ambitious schedule, but it's doable with a little bit of cooperation" from Republicans, he said.
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