WASHINGTON, May 4: Three Capitol Hill legislators on Tuesday proposed a sweeping amnesty for between eight million and 12 million undocumented immigrants who live, work and pay taxes in the United States.

The measure would ease family reunions, create two types of temporary work visas and offer a path to permanent legal residency and eventually citizenship for those who opt to live in the country.

According to the National Council of La Raza, a leading defender of Hispanic rights in the United States, the measure "would fix our broken immigration system".

The measure "is incredibly important to the Latino community, many of whom are immigrants themselves or have petitioned for their family members", the group said in a statement.

The measure was introduced in the Senate by Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and in the House by Representatives Luis Gutierrez of Illinois and Bob Menendez of New Jersey. -AFP