US Senate passes immigration reform bill

The US Senate passes here Thursday a sweeping immigration reform bill by a vote of 68 to 32 that would provide a path to citizenship for 11 million of illegal immigrants and bolster security along the southern border. In a statement, US President Barack Obama praised the Senate for "bringing us a critical step closer to fixing our broken immigration system once and for all." He affirmed that the bipartisan bill that passed was a "compromise," and that the Senate "did its job. It's now up to the House to do the same." "If enacted, the Senate bill would establish the most aggressive border security plan in our history. It would offer a pathway to earned citizenship for the 11 million individuals who are in this country illegally," he stressed. Obama urged "everyone who cares about this issue to keep a watchful eye," saying "we have a unique opportunity to fix our broken system in a way that upholds our traditions as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants." "We just need Congress to finish the job," he remarked.