WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) – A U.S. Senate panel on
Tuesday approved legislation to give millions of illegal
immigrants a path to citizenship, setting up a spirited debate
next month in the full Senate over the biggest changes in
immigration policy in a generation.

President Barack Obama, who has made enactment of an
immigration bill one of his top priorities for this year,
praised the Senate Judiciary Committee’s action, saying the bill
was consistent with the goals he has expressed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved legislation that would bring about the biggest changes in U.S. immigration policy in a generation, setting up a spirited debate in the full Senate next month.

By a vote of 13-5, the panel approved the nearly 900-page bill that would put 11 million illegal residents on a 13-year path to citizenship while further strengthening security along the southwestern border with Mexico, long a sieve for illegal crossings.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The technology industry and organized labor are locked in a fight that threatens to complicate the U.S. Senate’s immigration bill.

At the heart of the debate is whether there is a shortage of Americans with the math and science skills needed for work at technology firms like Facebook Inc, Google Inc and Microsoft Corp.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Amid fierce lobbying from the tech industry and organized labor, senators on Thursday hit a snag over a visa program for high-skilled foreign workers in the U.S. immigration bill and decided to delay action on the issue until next week.

The bill was carefully crafted by a bipartisan group of Senators to address a slew of concerns from interest groups. But the provision has emerged as a sticking point for the business community and could cost the support of a key Republican Senator Orrin Hatch.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate supporters of a broad U.S. immigration bill struggled on Wednesday to satisfy technology companies that want greater leeway to hire high-skilled foreign workers.

Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York took the lead in trying to broker a compromise on a visa program for skilled workers known as H-1B that has divided business groups and organized labor. The two sides are at odds over requirements that companies first seek Americans for any job openings and a prohibition on displacing U.S. workers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, who is considered crucial to the passage of an immigration law overhaul, on Tuesday vowed to fight for a biometric system that would track foreigners entering and exiting the country after a Senate panel rejected the idea.

Rubio and seven other Republican and Democratic senators, known as the “gang of eight,” have crafted a sweeping bill that would revamp the immigration system, increase work visas and put millions of illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, who is considered crucial for the success of an immigration law overhaul, on Tuesday vowed to fight for a biometric system to track foreigners leaving the country after a Senate panel rejected the provision, in part because it was too costly.

Rubio and seven other Republican and Democratic senators, known as the “gang of eight,” have crafted a sweeping bill that would revamp the immigration system, increase work visas and put millions of illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.

WASHINGTON, May 13 (Reuters) – A rift emerged between U.S.
business groups and organized labor over a high-skilled worker
program in the Senate immigration bill, as the tech industry and
other firms on Monday pushed to make it easier for companies to
hire people from abroad.

On the eve of a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a
broad coalition of business groups wrote to the panel urging
changes to the visa program known as H-1B.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Senate bill to overhaul U.S. immigration laws would help ease financial strains on the Social Security retirement program, government analysts said on Wednesday in a report that marked the latest salvo in a debate over the legislation’s impact.

In a letter to Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who is one of the authors of the bill, analysts at the Social Security Administration said the overall effect of the bill on the Social Security’s finances “will be positive.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Senate bill to overhaul U.S. immigration laws would help ease financial strains on the Social Security retirement program, government actuaries said on Wednesday in an estimate that marked the latest salvo in a debate over the legislation’s impact.

In a letter to Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who is one of the authors of the bill, actuaries for the Social Security Administration said the overall effect of the bill on the Social Security’s finances “will be positive.”