REUTERS: A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Tuesday unveiled long-awaited landmark legislation to remove the threat of deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants, giving them an opportunity to apply for permanent legal status within 10 years and eventually for U.S. citizenship.
Under the proposal, undocumented immigrants who came to America before Dec. 31, 2011 and stayed continuously could apply for “provisional” legal status as soon as six months after the bill is signed by the president.
But beyond that, they would have to wait, perhaps for a decade or more without receiving federal benefits, while the government meets a host of tough conditions for securing U.S. borders and enforcing current immigration law… (more)
