Sen. Chuck Hagel said Thursday he’ll hold an immigration forum in Lexington next Monday hours before the Senate is scheduled to vote on immigration reform.

Hagel will fly to Washington from Lexington to cast his vote in favor of a scheduled motion to proceed with consideration of reform legislation.

The Nebraska Republican has been a leader in proposing comprehensive reforms that include a pathway to earned legal status for illegal immigrants already settled in the United States.

Hagel told a telephone news conference he believes senators and the White House may be “pretty close” to reaching a compromise on immigration legislation.

The Lexington forum will center on reaction to a study about attitudes toward immigrants conducted by University of Nebraska at Kearney students, Hagel said.

Participants in the forum will include community, business, civic and educational leaders, he said.

Lexington probably has been “affected as much by immigrants as any town in America,” Hagel said.

The work force at the Tyson Foods meatpacking plant in Lexington is largely Hispanic, leading to a predominantly Hispanic student enrollment in the public schools.