Lawmakers in Washington D.C. are reporting progress on bipartisan efforts to reform U.S. immigration laws. An agreement on proposed legislation to change the system could be announced by the end of January, 2013.

Democratic Senator Robert Menedez told ABC’s This Week program “I am cautiously optimistic. I see the right spirit. I see things that were once off the table for agreement and discussion being on the table.”

Mendez is part of a group of Democrats and Republicans who have been working to craft an immigration reform deal that could pass both houses of Congress. The lawmakers report the envisioned deal will give legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants while also strengthening U.S. border security.

Another member of the Senate committee, Republican Senator John McCain, also appeared on the show This Week. He said the ideas discussed are not new, but the political landscape surrounding the issue has changed.

He reported, “It’s not that much different from what we tried to do in 2007. What has changed, honestly, is that there is a new 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.”

Republican opposition to immigration reform has softened since the 2012 elections, when more than two-thirds of Hispanic voters cast ballots for the Democratic party. Prominent Republicans have said their party will be hard pressed to win national debates unless it garners support from the Hispanic demographic.

Issues that remain include whether foreign citizens who entered the United States illegally or overstayed their visas can be eligible for eventual US citizenship. While Democrats vote yes on the issue, Republicans remain wary.

With this knowledge, McCain admits the status quo is unacceptable.

“We cannot go on forever with 11 million people living in this country in the shadows in an illegal status. We cannot forever have children who were brought here by their parents when they were small children to live in the shadows as well. So I think the time is right [for immigration reform],” he said.华盛顿国会议员报告了美国移民法改革商讨出的最新进展。在2013年1月底，改革提案协议有可能公

布。

民主党参议员Robert Menedez告诉美国广播公司，“我持谨慎乐观的态度。我看到了对的态势。这个

话题以前都不会谈，但现在已经开始正式商讨了。”

Menedez作为民主党与共和党集团成员，一直为推进起草移民改革法案努力，都争取希望在国会两院

中通过。国会议员报告将使数百万计的无证移民获得法律地位，同时也能加强美国边境安全。

参议院委员会的另一名成员，共和党参议员约翰·麦凯恩这周也说“尽管这并不是一个新话题，但围绕

这一问题的政治思路或想法却已经变了。”

他说，“和2007年当时相比，并没有很大不同。但现在变化的是，坦白而言，两党都有了新的认识。其

中更重要的可能是共和党这边，我们必须制定一项全面的移民改革法案。”

自2012年选举以来，共和党反对移民改革的态度已经软化。2012年选举，超过三分之二的拉美裔选民

把选票都投给了民主党。著名共和党人曾表示，共和党很难在大选中取胜，除非他们争取到了来自西

班牙裔选民的认可和支持。

很多问题依然存在。如已非法进入美国的外籍公民或签证已逾期的外籍公民其是否可以获得合法居留

权等。尽管民主党投赞成票，但就这个问题，共和党人仍持谨慎态度。

正因为这些实际情况，麦凯恩说目前的现状还无法接受。

他说，“我们不能永远让1100多万已生活在美国多年的人们一直在非法居留的阴影下生活。我们也不能

永远让那些由其父母带过来的小孩长大后一直在非法居留的阴影下生活。所以我觉的现在是时候开始

移民改革了。”