“Are you ready for immigration reform? I am!”

At an hour-and-a-half Chamber of Commerce question-and-answer session last week with much of the South Carolina Congressional delegation, the topic of immigration came up only once — when Mr. Graham mentioned it in his opening remarks.

“Are you ready for immigration reform?” he asked the crowd. “I am!”

The applause was scattered — but there were no boos, a change, aides and fellow Republicans said, from just a few years ago.

“I certainly think that the level of rhetoric and the environment for having the discussion has changed,” said Representative Mick Mulvaney, Republican of South Carolina. “I don’t think people are any less passionate about their view on immigration, but I do think people are willing to talk about immigration more freely and more holistically now.”…

Richard Quinn, a longtime consultant to Mr. Graham and a Republican pollster based in South Carolina, said that in a recent poll he conducted, the South Carolinian view of immigration seemed largely in line with that of the nation; only 21 percent of likely Republican primary voters said that the 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country should be deported, while 73 percent said they should be offered a path to citizenship provided they pay a fine, go to the back of the line, and learn English.