THE word from Washington has turned cautiously optimistic when it comes to immigration reform.

The atmosphere was undoubtedly helped by a USA Today/Gallup opinion poll last week which showed that 78% of Americans believe that undocumented immigrants should have a path to becoming legalized — a deep blow to those on the far right who want only border security and deportation for millions of undocumented.

The data from the USA Today poll bears scrutiny. The question gave respondents a four part choice: 1) requiring undocumented immigrants to leave and not return, 2) requiring them to leave but allow them to return temporarily, 3) requiring them to leave but allow them to return and work towards citizenship, or 4) allowing them to stay and work towards.

A combined total of 78% of the responders took the two final options, 42% went for option three, and 36% for option four.

Senator Edward Kennedy remarked that the poll clearly showed that the American people were ahead of the politicians, and that it was now up to them to get their act together.

They may well be doing that. News that the White House and leading Republicans and Democrats have been meeting in secret to discuss reform is a welcome development.

It has become obvious that an issue as contentious as immigration reform is better served by some quiet backroom work rather than very public sparring.

The current atmosphere of quiet diplomacy is in marked contrast to last year when the Kennedy/Senator John McCain position was under pressure form the beginning by hardline elements on the right who derided the entire bill as an amnesty for illegals.

Contrast the heated language back then with recent comments by Senator John Kyl of Arizona, a determined opponent of the McCain/Kennedy bill last year.

Speaking to a business group in Arizona, Kyl pronounced himself optimistic that a deal could be reached this year on immigration reform. He stated in part, “Securing the border, enforcing the law, a simple employee verification system, a temporary worker program, and resolving the status of illegal immigrants — those are the key elements of immigration reform. I’m hopeful we can reach a consensus on all of these views.”

Reported comments by Republicans and Democrats back up that fact. Senator Mel Martinez, Republican of Florida, last week said, “I think we’ve made a ton of progress, and I think next week, we might even be able to talk about it more publicly. The problems are small and manageable.”

It appears that a number of senators have moved their positions in the direction of compromise. Martinez said, “Kennedy and McCain and myself and others have moved. And I think Kyl and Cornyn have also moved.” Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey stated, “We’ve all moved.”

All this is good news, but clearly there is still a long way to go. One of the major problems could well be an insistence by both extremes in this debate on a perfect bill that completely meets all their needs.

Such a bill will not be forthcoming. Rather like watching sausages being made, political legislation, especially on such a hot button issue as immigration, is not a pretty thing to witness. Compromise and a less than perfect outcome for everyone is where the final Senate bill is likely to end up.

But it is certainly a time for hope and modest optimism. Clearly the politicians are listening to the desires of the voters for a resolution of this issue. Hopefully that it not too far off.