[04:49.67][00:00.00]Go to chinavoa.com for more... [00:03.86]From VOA Learning English, [00:06.55]this is In the News. [00:09.69]Earlier this week, [00:11.18]the United States Senate voted to begin debate [00:15.57]on a historic immigration bill. [00:19.36]The proposed law would offer a chance [00:22.64]for more than 11 million undocumented immigrants, [00:27.67]those not in the country legally, [00:30.60]to become American citizens. [00:33.95]It would also increase the number of [00:36.88]foreign temporary technology workers at a time [00:41.66]when American technology workers face high unemployment. [00:47.54]On Tuesday, President Barack Obama said [00:51.37]this is "the best chance in years" [00:54.67]to achieve "common sense reform." [00:57.86]He called on Congress to approve the bill. [01:01.89]"If you genuinely believe we need to [01:03.59]fix our broken immigration system, [01:04.78]there's no good reason to stand in the way of this bill." [01:07.32]The vote to permit debate passed easily, 82-15. [01:12.90]It clears the way for discussions [01:15.34]that political observers say could extend [01:18.92]through the rest of the month. [01:21.47]The legislation establishes a 13-year citizenship process [01:27.25]for immigrants who arrived in the United States illegally. [01:32.38]Public opinion studies released Thursday [01:36.01]suggest wide support for the main reforms. [01:40.89]People in 29 states were asked questions about immigration. [01:47.67]A majority supported reforms [01:50.75]that included stronger border security, [01:54.14]a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants [01:58.67]and laws to block employers from hiring people [02:03.46]living in the United States illegally. [02:07.09]The studies did not ask about a disputed part of the bill [02:12.16]that would increase the number of [02:14.15]temporary foreign technology workers. [02:17.49]Labor rights groups and business groups disagree about that issue. [02:24.02]Some businesses threatened [02:26.71]to withdraw their support for immigration reform [02:30.04]if the resulting bill did not drop a requirement [02:34.18]that employers seek American workers before hiring foreigners. [02:40.61]Foreign scientists, engineers and computer programmers [02:45.79]can live and work in the United States [02:49.47]under special permits called H-1B visas. [02:55.24]Many young scientists and engineers in India, China [03:00.72]and other developing countries compete for the work permits. [03:06.60]Large technology companies like Intel, Adobe and Microsoft [03:13.02]had asked for an increased number of workers with H-1B visas. [03:19.93]A group representing American engineers had asked Congress [03:24.77]to limit the number of foreign engineers as part of the bill. [03:29.56]Instead, the new bill increases the number of H-1B visas. [03:35.39]Labor rights groups strongly support citizenship [03:40.37]for undocumented low wage workers [03:43.04]but dispute whether more temporary technology workers [03:48.22]are needed in the United States. [03:51.85]They say foreign workers force down wages. [03:56.13]In Washington, the New America Alliance held a discussion [04:02.41]and news conference after the Senate vote. [04:06.55]The alliance is made up of Latino American business people. [04:11.77]The event included an emotional statement [04:16.26]by a young undocumented immigrant woman. [04:20.69]Julieta Garibay works on legislation for an organization [04:26.17]led by young immigrants called United We Dream. [04:31.60]"We deserve justice and dignity in this great country, [04:34.83]because at the end of the day, [04:36.87]to us this is not a bill of a thousand plus pages. [04:40.06]This is our lives." [04:42.01]And that's In the News from VOA Learning English. [04:47.43]I'm Alex Villareal.

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