WASHINGTON (AFP) -- U.S. President George W. Bush Friday urged Congress to pass a bill this year granting a path to citizenship for 12 million illegal immigrants, after Senate deal-makers gave the measure a second life.

"It's time for our elected leaders in Congress to act," Bush said at the annual National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast.

"Each day our nation fails to act, the problem only grows worse. I will continue to work closely with members of both parties, to get past our differences, and pass a bill I can sign this year," he said.

An agreement to revive the landmark bill emerged from hours of behind-closed-doors talks among a fragile coalition of Republican and Democratic senators trying to push it through Congress.

Illegal immigration is among voters' top concerns and is set to be a key issue in the 2008 presidential poll.

Under the proposed Senate bill, illegal immigrants would be able to seek a renewable "Z visa" after paying a $5,000 (£2,530) fine.