Bennett said because Thursday's vote stops the Senate from being able to consider "some of these critical issues, I don't object to the death of the bill in its present form," but he acknowledges there are still serious problems with immigration that need to be addressed.

Hatch had problems with the content of the bill as well as the way it was handled in the Senate.

"There's a process that provides some basic protections for major bills in the Senate," Hatch said. "That process wasn't followed here. This bill had no hearings, no markup, and we were denied any ability to bring up substantive amendments. That gave us no opportunity to improve the bill."

Like Hatch, Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, said the attempt to enact a "pretty radical shift" in the nation's immigration system had lacked transparency.

There was "a lot of arrogance," he said. "People have to be able to respond ... The process should be open."

Cannon said after the angst surrounding the Senate bill, on both the right and the left, there won't be a rush to introduce House legislation.

In Utah, those hoping for reform expressed disappointment Thursday but said they are still optimistic.

Faustino Landa, 37, a factory worker, remains hopeful that someday he'll be able to be a U.S. citizen, as his six children are, or at least be able to obtain legal status.

"It's very important for my family, for our safety to have papers," he said. "But, they do nothing."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called the bill's defeat "a profound disappointment."

"Today's vote does nothing to solve our problem of 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows," Reid said. "And this vote also ignores the very real economic needs of farmers and small-business owners. The current system is broken, but there were not enough senators willing to roll up their sleeves and do the hard work to fix it."

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. was also "deeply disappointed by Congress' inaction to secure our borders, reform our immigration system and deal realistically with what is perhaps America's most pressing problem," said Lisa Roskelley the governor's spokeswoman. "This issue doesn't go away with inaction, it grows more acute."

However, for those who had criticized the failed bill as an amnesty, Thursday's vote meant that Congress should shift its focus to securing the border and enforcing current laws against illegal immigration.

"People are just fed up with this talk of rewarding law-breaking," said Eli Cawley, director of the Utah Minuteman Project. "I, for one, am for a guest worker program, but I am not going to lend my support to it until the border is secure."

Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, said the Senate had made a "grave error" in killing the legislation. The action, he said, would cut off legal immigration, permit continued unlawful immigration and human rights violations and decrease security on both sides of the border.

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Contributing: Associated Press

E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com; suzanne@desnews.com