Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who has received a lot of criticism from his party’s base for his work on comprehensive immigration reform, did not vote. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who is also running for president, likewise did not vote.

The DREAM Act would allow some children of illegal immigrants to go to college or join the military. The measure was part of broader immigration legislation that stalled in the Senate earlier this year.

“Until we can once again move forward on comprehensive reform, we should at the very least enact the DREAM Act,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) ahead of the vote.

“The DREAM Act recognizes that children should not be penalized for the actions of their parents.”

Reid noted that he had met students from his home state whose future would be “limitless” with the DREAM Act.

“Without it, their hope is diminished,” Reid said. “What a waste it is to make it more difficult for children to go to college or get jobs, when they could be making meaningful contributions to their communities and to our country.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he opposed the bill because it would “reward illegal behavior.”

He criticized Democrats for bringing up a divisive issue when much other work remains to be done before the end of the year. McConnell also argued that immigration should not be addressed without also promoting border and interior security.

While some Republicans opposed the DREAM Act because they view it as a step toward amnesty, others voted against cloture because they object to addressing immigration piece by piece.

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) argued that cherry-picking some immigration provisions would not be useful and would only contribute to a patchwork of national, state and local immigration laws.

“I believe that the DREAM Act is a good act and I believe its purposes are beneficial and I think it ought to be enacted,” Specter said. “But I have grave reservations about seeing a part of comprehensive immigration reform go forward because it weakens our position to get a comprehensive bill.”

The White House echoed Specter’s concerns in a Statement of Administrative Policy.

“Immigration is one of the top concerns of the American people — and of this administration — but it needs to be addressed in a comprehensive and balanced way that avoids creating incentives for problems in the future,” the statement said.