June 7 (Bloomberg) -- A proposed overhaul of U.S. immigration law was pulled from the Senate floor after lawmakers voted for a second time today not to limit debate.

The Senate fell 15 votes short of the 60 votes needed to move toward final passage of the legislation, which would grant legal status to 12 million undocumented aliens.

``There's lots of support for this program on the outside,'' Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said after pulling the bill from the Senate floor in Washington. ``The problem was on the inside of this Senate chamber.''

``I want to finish this bill, but I can't do it alone,'' Reid said. ``Let's have President Bush work with us.''

The measure's failure is a defeat for President George W. Bush and a bipartisan group of senators who negotiated a compromise to give legal status to immigrants in this country illegally and create a guest-worker program to help U.S. employers fill jobs that Americans won't take.

Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said he hoped the Senate would ``return to this issue in the near future. I doubt prospects would get better with the passage of time.''

Seven Republicans joined 38 Democrats in voting to limit debate and move toward final passage. Those voting to allow unlimited debate included 38 Republicans, 11 Democrats and Bernard Sanders of Vermont, an independent.

`Fails Again'

Reid had appealed to Bush to help persuade 47 Republicans who opposed limiting debate on the bill in an earlier vote today. The legislation's demise would produce headlines that ``the president fails again,'' the majority leader warned.

Bush has championed an overhaul of immigration laws since taking office six years ago. The Senate last year approved a measure creating a guest-worker program and a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants, though negotiations with the House of Representatives failed to produce a final bill.

``The vote was obviously a big disappointment, but it makes no sense to fold our tent, and I certainly don't intend to,'' Massachusetts Democrat Edward Kennedy, a chief negotiator, said in a statement. ``I believe we're well within reach of a realistic solution.''

The Senate debated the legislation for nine days and considered more than three dozen amendments. The measure failed today after Republicans sought more opportunities to alter the bill.

To contact the reporters on this story: Nicholas Johnston in Washington at njohnston3@bloomberg.net; James Rowley in Washington at jarowley@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 7, 2007 21:34 EDT