US Senate passes landmark immigration bill

The United States Senate has passed the landmark comprehensive immigration reform bill that will provide a pathway to citizenship to some 11 million illegal immigrants, including over 240,000 Indians. The landmark legislation of the Obama administration received bipartisan support as it passed on Thursday with 88 votes for and 32 votes against it. The bill now moves to the House of Representatives before it can be sent to US President Barack Obama to sign it into law. However, the bill retained killer provisions when it comes to H-1B Visas that would badly hit Indian companies in the United States. "Today with a strong bipartisan vote, the United States Senate delivered for the American people, bringing us a critical step closer to fixing our broken immigration system once and for all," Obama said in a statement. "If enacted, the Senate bill would establish the most aggressive border security plan in our history," he said. "It would offer a pathway to earned citizenship for the 11 million individuals who are in this country illegally a pathway that includes passing a background check, learning English, paying taxes and a penalty, and then going to the back of the line behind everyone who''s playing by the rules and trying to come here legally," Obama further said. "It would modernise the legal immigration system so that it once again reflects our values as a nation and addresses the urgent needs of our time. And it would provide a big boost to our recovery, by shrinking our deficits and growing our economy," he said. However, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, said on Thursday that any immigration legislation must win the support of a majority of his conference to move forward. "For any legislation, including a conference report, to pass the House, its going to have to be a bill that has the support of a majority of our members," he said. Boehner''s comments cast doubt on the chances legislation will quickly reach Obama''s desk. Thursday’s meeting of the Senate was presided over by Vice President Joe Biden. "According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, modernising our immigration system and bringing these hard working immigrants out of the shadows and into our economy will improve our nation''s balance sheet by nearly a trillion dollars over the next 20 years," said Biden.