Vice President Joseph R. Biden — already known as a habitual blurter of the near-nonsensical and politically befuddling — may have one-upped himself this week with a somewhat shocking statement on illegal immigrants.

“You know, 11 million people live in the shadows. I believe they’re already American citizens,” Mr. Biden said during a Thursday address to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, The Hill reported. “These people are just waiting, waiting for a chance to contribute fully. And by that standard, 11 million undocumented aliens are already Americans, in my view.”

His statements come as Democrats in the House were this week steadily plodding forward with a bill to reform the nation’s immigration laws and open doors to amnesty.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday to the same Hispanic Chamber of Commerce crowd that she wants a bill “desperately” and is ready to work some political trades.

“I want this bill desperately,” she said, The Hill reported. “I’m willing to make almost every compromise possible, but we cannot compromise on a pathway to citizenship. It cannot have a provision that prevents it from happening.”

Mr. Biden also signaled that he wasn’t going to give up on immigration reform, no matter how politically hot the matter became.

“If we want a game changer, the single most important thing we can do for our economy and for America’s future is pass immigration reform now,” he said, The Hill reported. “I’ve heard for too damn long how this was going to bankrupt us, and Social Security was going to take a nosedive and so on. … Well, guess what? It’s a game changer financially for the country.”

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