President Barack Obama has called for “comprehensive” reform of US immigration laws in a landmark speech, following up on an inaugural pledge just over a week ago to put the issue at the top of his second-term agenda.

He laid out ambitious plans to overhaul immigration laws that will put more than 11 million illegal immigrants, including thousands of undocumented Irish, on the road to citizenship. Read Washington Correspondent Simon Carswell’s  full report on last night’s speech in today’s Irish Times.