The Democrat-controlled US House of Representatives narrowly passed a law seeking to offer a path to citizenship to young illegal immigrants who attend college or enroll in the military.
The so-called DREAM Act -- Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2010 -- cleared the House 216 to 198.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a rights group, called the vote a "major victory for equality."
But the bill now awaits action Thursday in the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid is not expected to garner the 60 votes needed.
After repeated efforts failed to secure a comprehensive overhaul of the tattered immigration system in the United States -- where some 11 million undocumented people are estimated to currently live -- the bipartisan bill sought to better integrate children brought illegally to the country by their parents.
The measure narrowly applies to immigrants younger than 30 years old who arrived in the United States illegally before they were 16, spent at least five years on US soil and have not had run-ins with the law.
Candidates must also have earned a high-school degree, attend at least two years of college or serve in the military.
President Barack Obama welcomed the vote, noting the Congressional Budget Office found the bill would cut the massive US deficit by 2.2 billion dollars over the next 10 years.
"This vote is not only the right thing to do for a group of talented young people who seek to serve a country they know as their own by continuing their education or serving in the military, but it is the right thing for the United States of America," he said in a statement urging the Senate to follow suit.
He said the DREAM Act "corrects one of the most egregious flaws of a badly broken immigration system. A flaw that forces children who have grown up in America, who speak English, who have excelled in our communities as academics, athletes or volunteers to put their lives and talent on hold at a great cost to themselves and our nation."
Supporters say the move could help legalize the status of hundreds of thousands of youths who have been brought to the country illegally at no fault of their own.
But Republicans criticized the bill as "amnesty" for illegal immigrants.
About 40 House Democrats voted against the measure.
"In passing the DREAM Act, the House has taken an historic step forward to help motivated, bright young people fulfill their goals and aspirations," said ACLU Legislative Counsel Joanne Lin.
"This bill will help young people achieve their dreams and pursue a better future for themselves and for their families."
Under current US immigration law, illegal immigrant youngsters cannot attend university even if they completed elementary, middle and high school in the United States and have been offered college scholarships.
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