Immigration reform may feel like a dead issue in Washington this year, but that has not stopped reform advocates from continuing to raise the issue.

In a speech to Pennsylvania political leaders gathered in New York Saturday, Vice President Joe Biden proclaimed that Congress is morally and economically responsible to provide a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants residing in the country.

He added that many of them "are already Americans," whether they're here legally or not, and that most simply want a decent life for themselves and their children, reports the Huffington Post.

It was the second time in a week that Biden addressed immigration publicly. In a recent online chat, he called out House Speaker John Boehner for blocking a vote on a Senate package that includes a pathway to citizenship.

Biden says that majorities of Americans in both parties support such a pathway.

On Wednesday, the VP also raised the issue, admitting that some of his ancestors came to the United States illegally. Responding to one person who argued her family legally emigrated from Ireland in the 19th century, Biden explained his did not.

"My great-great-grandparents came escaping the famine, and they didn't all come here legally. They didn't all come legally. And the existence of the system isn't all truncated like it is now. I'd check your ancestry to make sure that they did come legally if that's a concern to you," report Politico.

Biden also called on Republican House Speaker John Boehner to allow a vote on the comprehensive immigration reform bill the Senate passed in June.