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Senate Democrats huddled with immigration advocates at the Capitol on Tuesday to rally them around a unified message: Train all your fire on House Republicans from now until August.

Until now, reform backers have waged a war on two fronts: Urging lawmakers to pass a comprehensive immigration overhaul, and pressuring President Barack Obama to use administrative action to ease deportations and alter his enforcement policies. That dual strategy has, at times, competed with one another.

Now, key Senate Democrats still sensing a window of opportunity for immigration reform this year want that focus to be all on the GOP-led House for the next 10 weeks.

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We talked about doing everything we could to get the House to act before August recess, said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) after the hourlong meeting. If they dont act, you know, then the president is going to have no choice but to act on his own. But wed all prefer that there be a legislative solution.

The groups at the Tuesday meeting primarily consisted of Latino and liberal-leaning advocacy organizations that have lobbied for immigration reform, along with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Democratic members of the Senate Gang of Eight that wrote the chambers overhaul bill.

Advocates who attended the meeting said Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), in particular, made a forceful case for waiting the 72 days until Aug. 1 the last day the Senate is slated to be in session before the monthlong break to try to get legislative reform that would be permanent, rather than an administrative relief that may be temporary.

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But advocates also noted to senators that they are pressuring the administration not just to shield immigrants here illegally from deportations, but also to make some changes in the way that the administration carries out immigration enforcement.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who is leading the administrations deportation review, signaled last week that he may be announcing some changes to Secure Communities a program that calls on local law enforcement to give fingerprints of people booked into jails over to federal immigration officials.

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Senate Dems aim at House on reform