The growing call for immigration reform among Latinos is echoing from even the ranks of Hollywood.
Actress Eva Longoria said on ABC's "This Week," aired on Sunday, that with President Barack Obama's re-election now official, she expects immigration reform to be a major priority for the Obama administration to undertake in the next four years.
Longoria, a Corpus Christi, Texas native with Mexican-American roots, campaigned heavily for Obama during the election, has been a very vocal proponent of immigration reform recently. And her hopes for this second term, with President Obama having been sworn in on Monday, is that the debate on immigration takes centerstage at some point soon on Capitol Hill.
"What I am hopeful about is that this administration, and particularly President Obama, sees that immigration is an economic issue," Longoria, of "Desperate Housewives" fame, said on "This Week." "We have to understand that we are dependent upon a labor in this country, specifically agriculture, to provide low-cost products, and they're jobs that nobody else is doing."
It appears that the Obama administration is taking steps towards addressing the issue of immigration, with President Obama last week issuing new legislation proposals that include providing a conditional path to citizenship for many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants within U.S. borders. The conditions involve paying back taxes and fines, among others.
However, some Republicans, such as U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., have offered counter-proposals of their own on immigration, setting the tone for what could be another bitter battle in Washington regarding a hotly-debated issue.
Despite the differing views between both parties, Longoria still believes that Democrats and Republicans can come together on the issue in order to get something done regarding an immigration overhaul.
"I think the Republicans are going to realize, if they don't do it because it's morally imperative, they have to do it because it's politically imperative," she said. "And if they're not going to do it because it's politically imperative, they've got to do it because it's economically imperative. So there's a lot of gains for everybody, no matter what party affiliation, to get this done and to fix this problem."