US lawmakers propose immigration reform deal.

WASHINGTON -- A bipartisan group of top senators Monday proposed a pathway to citizenship for many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, a plan hailed by the White House, reports AFP.

The proposal, made by four Democrats and four Republicans after weeks of talks, appears to be the most serious attempt at immigration reform since 2007, when then president George W. Bush's effort failed to get through Congress.

President Barack Obama has made it clear that reforming what many have described as a "broken" immigration system is to be a top priority of his second term, which began on January 20. The plan, unveiled Monday by the lawmakers including Republicans John McCain and Marco Rubio, and Democrats Dick Durbin and Chuck Schumer, would provide a "tough but fair" pathway to citizenship for most undocumented immigrants.

It also includes a strengthened employment verification system, increased border security to include drones and other surveillance, improved skill-based immigration, better visa enforcement, and deportation for serious criminals.

Schumer said he was confident a deal could be struck within months. "We still have a long way to go, but this bipartisan blueprint is a major breakthrough," Schumer told reporters. Other bipartisan groups of lawmakers have trumpeted similar proposals before, Schumer said, "but we believe this will be the year Congress finally gets it done."

"For the first time ever, there is more political risk in opposing immigration reform than in supporting it," said Schumer, who represents New York state. McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate defeated by Obama, said the politics of the issue had changed dramatically.

"If you look at the polls when it comes to immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for certain immigrants without papers, the American people are there," he said. But McCain, from the border state of Arizona where illegal immigration remains a hot-button issue, said dramatic improvements along the border have also helped turn the tide.

At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney said Obama "believes it is very important that we move forward on comprehensive immigration reform." "It's the right thing to do for the country, for our economy. It's the right thing to do out of fairness...