As the Biden administration calls on Congress to pass legislation creating a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, a bipartisan coalition of business leaders are pledging to advocate for the reform package.

In a virtual gathering Thursday, the top brass of the American Business Immigration Coalition saluted President Joe Biden for making the immigration reform proposal the first bill his administration is sending to Capitol Hill.

"The best thing to say is we are deeply grateful," said John Rowe, a chairman emeritus of Exelon who serves as the coalition's co-chair. "This is really good stuff. It's good for the economy, it's morally good, and it just works."

If it were to become law, the measure would allow undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States to apply for a Green Card after completing a series of background checks and paying any back taxes. Three years after that, they would be eligible to become naturalized citizens. Many farm workers, "dreamers," and immigrants with Temporary Protected Status would be able to apply for Green Cards immediately.

The sponsor of the Senate legislation, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), told Thursday's gathering the pandemic has underscored the necessity of extending citizenship to immigrants who are playing crucial roles in the nation's economic life.

"We found them to be the essential workers: those who risked their lives so that the rest of us could stay at home as we were told to by our government to try to break the back of the pandemic, who pick our produce, who pack our meat, who keep our food supply strong," Menendez said.

Florida business leaders have pointed out the state's critical hospitality and agriculture industries are particularly reliant on low-wage labor, with undocumented immigrants invariably doing an outsize share of the work.

But the package faces uncertain prospects in a 50-50 Senate. Eight years ago, the so-called "Gang of Eight" bipartisan senators — including Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio — helped usher a similar pathway to citizenship to passage in the upper chamber. At the time, the House was controlled by Republicans and refused to hear the legislation.

Now, the Biden-supported measure is almost certain to pass the Democratic-led House, with the Senate posing the biggest hurdle. Nine Republicans would have to join with all 50 Democrats and Vice President Kamala Harris to approve the bill. With the chamber's Republican caucus populated by more tough-on-immigration conservatives than it was in 2013, that could be a tall order.