A broad, bipartisan plan for overhauling the nation’s immigration laws suffered what The New York Times called “a crippling defeat” tonight in the U.S. Senate, and while the Senate majority leader said he hoped to bring up the legislation again in several weeks, the bill was clearly on life support.

Advocates of the legislation, S 1348 — a fragile compromise plan reached among a group of Democratic and Republican senators and supported by President Bush — needed at least 60 votes to end debate on the measure and move it toward final passage. But they received only 45. Fifty senators voted against the cloture motion.

Senators from across the political spectrum voiced opposition to the bill, though the measure’s provisions related to higher education were not among the major reasons lawmakers cited for their disapproval.

The bill includes a plan to give college students who entered the United States illegally as children a clear path to receiving permanent legal status to remain in the country. And the measure would make it easier for states to charge those students in-state tuition rates, which are lower than the rates for nonresidents.

The process for issuing permanent visas would also be changed to give more preference than in the past to people who had earned advanced degrees and who had certain job skills that are in demand.

If the majority leader, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, is unable to change some of the votes, he may be forced to drop consideration of the bill for the year. —Sara Hebel