“For the last six or seven years, there had been no one to partner with, but since Nov. 6 there’s been a lot of new dance partners, and that’s good,” said Representative Luis V. Gutierrez, Democrat of Illinois and a member of the group. “The table is filling up with people, and people are talking and they’re having conversations.”…

In a town where leaks are the currency of doing business, those with knowledge of the group said the legislators’ tight-lipped discipline was remarkable — and necessary.

Immigration is a politically fraught issue, especially in the House, and many of the members wanted the safety of being able to present controversial ideas or walk away without details appearing in the news media. House Republicans involved with the group did not want to be associated with a topic they saw as potentially toxic, particularly with members of their party’s more conservative wing.

The group has received far less attention than its Senate counterpart — in part by design, and in part because most lawmakers believe that the Senate will need to take the lead on immigration.