A bipartisan effort in the Senate has led to a new immigration reform bill that will now find its way to the House of Representatives. Though its future is still uncertain, the bill's initial success in the Senate is reason to celebrate for the more than 11 million undocumented workers that are estimated to live in America.

The bill was spearhead by the so-called "gang of eight," a bipartisan group of senators that was an equal split of Democrats and Republicans, including two of the GOP's biggest names, John McCain and Marco Rubio. The bill follows in the footsteps of Senator Ted Kennedy, who long ago started efforts for immigration reform like the bill that was passed in the Senate.

"Senator Kennedy knew the day would come when a group of senators, divided by party, but united by love of country, would see this fight to the finish," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said. "So the day is today. And while I am sad that Senator Kennedy isn't here to see history made, I know he is looking at us proudly and loudly."

The bill calls for a clear-cut, albeit very long process allowing undocumented immigrants to cain American citizenship. The path is not easy, and it will take at least 13 years for the first applicants to become citizens, but the bill allows them to be in America while they work towards their citizenship. For the bill's detractors, this reform amounts to little more than condoning illegal actions.

"If this bill passes today, it will be all but relegated to the ash heap of history, as the House appears willing to tackle immigration reform the right way," Mike Lee (R-Utah) said before the vote. "The sponsors of this bill had the best of intentions, but in my opinion, intentions aren't enough."

The bill passed by a vote of 68-32. Fourteen Republicans ended up crossing party lines and supporting reform that has generally been seen as Democratic in nature. While the bill's opposition has been adamant that it will ultimately hurt the U.S. economy by creating job competition, not all experts agree with that assessment.

"Immigration flows are ultimately just too small as a share of the US labor force to have large impacts on wages once the labor market adjusts to the supply increase," writes Jared Bernstein, a former Obama administration economist. "The labor force is always growing along with population, and if anything, demographics [are] pointing toward slower supply growth [of workers]."

In total, the bill is estimated to shave nearly $1 trillion off of the national deficit. It will now go onto the House for a vote, where it is anyone's guess how it will fare. If the House falls roughly in line with the Senate however, it is very likely that soon, more immigrants will be able to safely work and contribute towards the American economy.