Top Republican 'confident' of US immigration deal

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US House Speaker John Boehner expressed confidence on Thursday that he and his Republicans can work with President Barack Obama in hammering out a comprehensive deal on immigration.

Republican nominee Mitt Romney's tack to the right during his presidential campaign, particularly on immigration, was a key reason he lost the Hispanic vote by a wide margin in his defeat to Mr Obama on Tuesday.

Now, with Republican soul-searching beginning in the aftermath of the election, immigration is seen as one way to frame the Republican Party as more inclusive of Latinos, the fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States.

"This issue has been around far too long," Mr Boehner, the country's most senior Republican, told ABC News in an interview.