The US Senate’s Judiciary Committee has approved a bill which is seen as the biggest overhaul of US immigration policy in decades. The legislation will give over 11 million illegal immigrants a path to citizenship, and also ease restrictions on hiring foreigners for highly skilled jobs in the country.
President Barack Obama, who has made enactment of an immigration bill one of his top priorities for this year, praised the panel’s action. He said the bill was consistent with the goals he has proposed. The Senate will debate the proposal next month.