For the first time, House Republican leaders announced that they would be open to offering a pathway to legalisation for the nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the nation.

GOP leaders made this announcement Thursday during their annual three-day retreat in Cambridge, Md., where House Speaker John Boehner distributed a two-page list of broad immigration principles, reports the Washington Post. The document outlined a piecemeal plan for an overhaul of immigration reform that includes a path for undocumented residents to live and work in the country legally, without full American citizenship.

The document, which comes months after the Senate passed a broad bipartisan bill over the summer, also includes measures for tighter border security and more interior immigration enforcement.

In order to gain legal status, immigrants would be required to register with the federal government, "admit their culpability," pass a "rigorous" criminal background check, pay fines and back taxes, learn English and prove they can support themselves without government assistance, reports USA Today.

However, the principles do not make clear if most undocumented immigrants would ever be able to apply for green cards. Those brought to the country as children "would not be punished for the mistakes of their parents" and could become U.S. citizens if they met certain criteria.

In response, Senate Democrats felt encouraged by what they saw in the GOP set of principles.

"While these standards are certainly not everything we would agree with, they leave a real possibility that Democrats and Republicans, in both the House and Senate, can in some way come together and pass immigration reform that both sides can accept. It is a long, hard road, but the door is open," said Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer in a statement.

Democrats, who have insisted that the GOP could not remove U.S. citizenship from their proposal, agreed that the new GOP principles is something they could work with.

"Nobody that I hear from in Congress is talking about immediate citizenship for everyone or mass deportation for everyone," said immigration activist Rep. Luis Gutiérrez. "We can find common ground that allows millions of the undocumented to eventually apply for citizenship, legalizes millions who are working and contributing to the country, and puts our economy, our security and the legality of America's workforce on solid ground."

Pro-immigrant rights advocates also applauded Republicans for taking steps to fix the nation's broken immigration system. 

"This is the first time House leadership has said, 'This is where we're going,' " said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum. "You cannot overstate House leadership laying out principles for immigration reform that are thoughtful and pragmatic."

However, other groups like the AFL-CIO ,were not impressed by the GOP plan.

"Seven months after 68 Senators overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan immigration bill, House Republicans respond with a flimsy document that only serves to underscore the callous attitude Republicans have toward our nation's immigrants," according to the Washington Post.