U-S Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois says lawmakers continue to make headway on immigration reform.
Durbin is part of a bipartisan group of eight Senators developing a national immigration plan. As a guest on Fox News Sunday, the number two Democrat in the Senate said the group is still working through a number of difficult issues.
“There are several problems. We’re dealing with border enforcement, which is very important on the Republicans’ side of the table. We're dealing with the question of the 11 million people paying their taxes having a path to legalization, then ultimately to citizenship, tough issues, but we're coming together and I think we can do it, I have a positive feeling,” says Durbin.
Durbin was also optimistic that the current budget struggle on Capitol Hill could ultimately lead to a so-called “grand bargain” between Republicans and Democrats. He said a key a key part of long-term deficit control will be controlling Medicare costs, which he said were unsustainable.