“Senator Graham and I talked. He was responding to concerns that were expressed before the book was actually published,” Bush said. “I told him that I support his efforts and I applaud what he’s doing. And he concluded, after he heard what the thesis of the book is that we’re in sync. We’re on the same — on the same path.”

“The basic premise needs to be that coming to the country legally should be easier with less cost than coming to the country illegally. And if you can create a system like that as is being discussed in the Senate and in the House– through a path to citizenship, that’s fine,” Bush said. “But my guess is that will take a long, long time to achieve. In the interim, it’s important to take people out from the shadows to allow them to have– the dignity of being– having legal status.”

Florida governor Jeb Bush told me that he was “very encouraged” about the possibility of comprehensive immigration reform – a legislative achievement that has eluded lawmakers for more than a decade — becoming law by the end of the year.