A bipartisan group of leading senators announced they have reached agreement on rewriting immigration laws in Washington Monday. (From left) Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
In the Republican-led house, members say they are working on their own legislation, but one member says it looks very similar to what the Senate group discussed Monday.
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"Although we have not seen the legislation text, the principles released today are compatible with the discussions in the House. The prospect of true immigration reform can only happen with bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress, and today's news is a step in that direction," said Florida Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart.
The announcement comes just a day before President Barack Obama reveals his own plans for immigration reform, a 2008 campaign promise that he failed to complete in his first term. Legislators say they showed the president the framework of their proposal Sunday and he congratulated them on their efforts.
But the immigration bill, which is a compromise for both the left and right, could mean a chance for the GOP to make up for lost time.
Experts in the immigration community agree that proposals like the one unveiled Monday, represent a promising political opportunity for the GOP, which was only able to garner just over 25 percent of the Latino vote in the 2012 presidential election.
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McCain addressed the growing support among members of his party to take action after the 2012 presidential defeat during a Sunday appearance on ABC's This Week. "What's changed is — honestly, is that there is a new, I think, appreciation on both sides of the aisle — including maybe more importantly on the Republican side of the aisle — that we have to enact a comprehensive immigration reform bill," McCain said on the show.
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