In the long run, sensible Republicans should also be disheartened; supporting reasonable immigration reform is one of the few ways to fight the demographic wave killing us in national elections. If we could even come close to carrying the same share of Hispanic and Asians voters W did, the future would be a lot brighter.
A reasonable immigration reform is one that won't necessitate yet another reform and another every other decade. The politics first or politics primarily approach demands something else and even then, it will take a lot more then that to achieve the results your mention politically speaking.