Tom Tancredo, a Republican whose presidential campaign has largely centered on his desire to crack down on illegal immigration, sought to arrest three immigrant students who were attending a Capitol Hill news conference yesterday.

Mr. Tancredo, a U.S. representative from Colorado, contacted the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and asked them to take into custody the students, who were to appear at an event in support of legislation known as the Dream Act, according to The New York Times.

The legislation, S 2205, would provide a path to legal residency for some illegal immigrants and make them eligible for federal student-loan and work-study programs. The measure today failed to get enough votes to be considered further on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

“If we can’t enforce our laws inside the building where American laws are made, where can we enforce them?” Mr. Tancredo was quoted as saying in the Times.

Three immigrant students who would benefit if the Dream Act were approved attended the news-media event, according to the newspaper. The article said that two of the students were born in Germany and one was from Costa Rica, and all of them are in the United States on temporary legal status.

A spokeswoman for the federal immigration agency told the Times that officials had received a letter from Mr. Tancredo and were reviewing it but that the agency took no action at yesterday’s event.