"We have guarded enthusiasm," said Michael Clara, spokesman for the Utah Hispanic Legislative Task Force, which supports the Senate bill. "It's not over by any means."

Alex Segura, director of the anti-illegal immigration Utah Minuteman Project suspected the conference committee would end up "deadlocked." Another House bill supporter, Mike Sizer, chairman of Utahns for Immigration Reform and Enforcement agreed. "My prediction is there will not be a bill," Sizer said.

Cannon doubted the House would embrace the Senate's so-called pathway to citizenship but hoped that meaningful reform could be agreed on.

"I think it will look dramatically different," Cannon said of any future compromise. "The House approach is very important. We need tools for enforcement. We'll start working out our differences and come out with a border-security bill and have a comprehensive approach."

Conservatives attacked the Senate bill to the end after trying unsuccessfully to pick it apart with amendments.

"This is amnesty," said Sen. David Vitter, R-La., who tried last week to strip out provisions relating to citizenship.

Hatch told senators he couldn't support the bill, even though it included his DREAM Act, which provides a way for some undocumented youths to earn legal status through means such as higher education or military service.

"In clear language, granting amnesty rewards the lawbreaker, pure and simple," Hatch said.

The objections echoed the views of numerous House Republicans, many of whom have vigorously denounced the Senate bill as well as Bush's call for a "com- prehensive approach" to the issue.

That portended difficult compromise talks in the shadow of midterm elections, at a time when Bush's poll ratings are low, congressional Republicans are concerned and Democrats are increasingly optimistic about their chances at the polls.

For now, supporters of the Senate bill said they intended to savor their victory. Peppered with questions about the compromise talks ahead, Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., said, "I'm going to celebrate here."

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said compromise talks should begin swiftly.

"I think it is important on this issue with millions of people coming across our borders illegally, not knowing who they are, where they are going or why they are coming," he said.

Bush played a prominent role in the run-up to passage. An Oval Office speech last week made explicit his support for the Senate's overall approach. A later trip to Arizona was designed to reassure conservatives about his commitment to stanching illegal immigration.