Immigration Reform 2013: Senate Group 'Very Close' To Final Deal on Immigration

After stops and stalls late in the process, it appears that the bipartisan Senate panel working on immigration reform may be closer than ever to a deal to fix the nation's immigration laws.

After an apparent compromise between union leaders and big business was met Friday, it appears that the senate panel is closer than ever to finalizing a bill that would create a pathway to citizenship for many of the 11 million immigrants living undocumented in the U.S.

The dispute centered around a guest worker program for low-skilled workers and the wages that those workers would be paid under the program. The AFL-CIO wanted higher wages than the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was willing to agree to.

However, talks resumed between the two sides this week, with representatives from both sides indicating that business and union leaders may be reaching an agreement on the guest worker program soon.

From the details available on the agreement, both sides have reportedly agreed to a new "W" visa program that would bring thousands of low-skilled workers into U.S. borders legally annually. Roughly 200,000 visas would be available under the program, but the number can go higher or lower depending on several key market factors such as unemployment rates, employer demand, the number of jobs available and more.

According to the Chamber of Commerce, workers would get paid actual wages similar to U.S. workers or the wages corresponding to the industry that said immigrants would work in. However, labor unions have previously argued that the chamber is attempting to low-ball immigrant workers, trying to pay workers poverty-level wages; the chamber countered that the accusation isn't true.

Now, with both sides nearing common ground on the subject, Eliseo Medina, the secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union and one of labor's most influential voices on immigration issues, told the New York Times, "We may be very close to a point where the senators will have an announcement soon."

"We're feeling very optimistic on immigration: Aspiring Americans will receive the road map to citizenship they deserve and we can modernize 'future flow' without reducing wages for any local workers, regardless of what papers they carry," AFL-CIO spokesman Jeff Hauser said in a statement, as reported by the Associated Press. "Future flow" refers to future arrivals of legal immigrants.

With the dispute over the guest worker program nearing a resolution, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., one of the members of the panel, told reporters Friday that he was confident that a deal on immigration reform could be done soon.

"We are very close, closer than we have ever been, and we are very optimistic, but there are still a few issues remaining," Schumer said in a statement.