Mexico City.– The Mexican government said Friday that it sees signs that the U.S. Senate will pass an immigration reform bill that is similar to what Mexico has proposed and will be beneficial to interests on both sides of the border.

President Vicente Fox's spokesman, Ruben Aguilar, told reporters that the Mexican government "detects a very favorable environment" and has noted "very positive and encouraging statements" by lawmakers in Washington regarding eventual passage of the legislation.

"There is a real possibility that over the next few days the Senate will approve an immigration reform bill that is in line with what Mexico has proposed and that benefits the two countries," Aguilar said.

He added that, "although we'll have to wait to see what decision the senators make and there's still much left to do," Mexico is confident that comprehensive immigration reform "would be a step forward in resolving a historical problem between both nations."

Mexico has encouraged Washington to enact an immigration law that ensures the "legal, orderly and humane" flow of immigrants north of the border, puts in place a temporary worker program and legalizes the status of undocumented immigrants already living in the United States, among other measures.

Some 10 million Mexicans are estimated to be living and working in the United States, half of them without a visa or Green Card.

The leaders of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee responsible for coming up with a bill said on Thursday they were optimistic that an agreement on the legislation - which they said would include a guest worker program and the legalization of some undocumented immigrants - could be reached by the end of the month.

Agreement on an eventual bill will likely require reconciling a proposal by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) and John Kyl (R-Ariz.) with another by John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.). The former would require those who broke the law to return home before applying for a guest-worker program, while the latter would allow the 12 million illegal immigrants to apply for a six-year visa if they work, pay a fine and back taxes, pass a background check and learn English.

The Mexican government has said the McCain-Kennedy initiative is the one most closely in line with the goals it is seeking to achieve.

The Fox administration and many U.S. lawmakers have expressed their opposition to a bill sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) that the House of Representatives passed in December.

That legislation calls for building hundreds of miles of additional barriers along the United States' southern border and would make unlawfully entering the United States a criminal offense, meaning that undocumented migrants could face jail terms in addition to deportation.