Senate, U.s. Citizenship | featured news

Republican Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday that illegal immigrants should be allowed to become U.S. taxpayers and ultimately get a shot at citizenship, a significant step for the Tea Party favorite amid growing Republican acceptance of the idea.

The Senate rejected a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants on Saturday, a defeat that pushes any effort to reform immigration into the next Congress where conservatives will have even more influence.

Facing a Republican filibuster, Senate Democrats on Thursday pulled a measure that would allow young Americans who are illegally in the United States to earn citizenship.