No matter how promising comprehensive immigration reform may appear, there's still a strong chance that it is not going to happen in 2014.

One of the biggest immigration reform setbacks of 2013 was the failure of both houses of Congress to pass comprehensive legislation that included a pathway for citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants who currently reside in our country. Although the Senate passed a bipartisan bill over the summer, Republican leadership in the House adamantly opposed it, and House Speaker John Boehner refused to bring the bill to a vote.

However, the year seemed to end on a more positive note in December after Speaker Boehner hired Rebecca Tallent, the former director of immigration policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, as a consultant on immigration policy, reports USA Today. He also indicated resistance toward the Tea Party, a small but influential fraction in the GOP that opposes amnesty.

In addition, President Obama has relaxed his pressure on the House to pass the Senate bill and signaled that he would be willing to adhere to the GOP's piecemeal bill approach.

Nevertheless, this still does not mean that the Speaker will fight members of his own party to push for an immigration law overhaul. And even if he is able to move legislation, both Capitol Hill vets and Republican aides agree that it won't resemble the Senate's bipartisan bill. In fact, a narrower compromise could be worse than no action at all, they say.

"There's just no way they're going to get it," said Jim Manley, a former top aide to Sen. Harry Reid who has also worked with different immigration reform groups, to BuzzFeed.

"My worst fear is the speaker gets his act together and moves some of these [smaller bills] ... and then they tell the Senate 'take it or leave it,'" he argued.  "The groups at that point are going to have to make a decision," Manley said, adding that accepting a partial deal could put a halt on comprehensive reform for years.

One unnamed immigration activist agreed, pointing out that although Boehner appears to be softening up on the issue, in actuality he is trying to see if he can "buy off the coalition groups that are desperate for a bill with something significantly less [than the Senate's plan] ... is it possible to settle something for pennies on the dollar."

Additionally, while Republican leaders may be inclined to address the broken immigration system, they've made clear they won't support a comprehensive bill. So if Republicans do agree to compromise on reform, the House may refuse to discuss issues beyond those incorporated in the smaller bill. In turn, that could doom the chance for broader reforms for years ahead. "There's not a snowball's chance in hell that Congress is going to take up this issue in the near future," Manley said.

The activist concurred, saying, "The best you get is a bill that halts deportation and a bill that is going to be semi-permanent ... you're not going to get a second crack at it."

Tamar Jacoby, the CEO of Immigration Works USA, noted another reason why many House Republicans will be unwilling to bring immigration to a vote in 2014 is the fear that they may lose their seat in the upcoming mid-term elections.

"I would be a crazy person to bet my house that it was gonna happen - I'm not foolish, but I also would not bet my house that it won't happen," said Jacoby to the Fronteras Desk during a recent immigration reform debate held at Rio Salado College in Temple, Ariz.,

He continued that Republicans may be more willing to vote for immigration legislation once they know whether or not they will be challenged by another Republican in a primary.

"If you don't have a challenger, you might feel freer to vote for this," Jacoby said. "So after the filing deadlines is a possibility, after the primaries is a possibility, lame duck is a possibility. It's going to be tricky, I mean let's be honest, the windows are small and they are going to be tricky to navigate."