WASHINGTON - The Senate rejected a call Tuesday to secure the nation's borders before tackling other immigration-related concerns such as citizenship for millions of people in the country illegally, a victory for President Bush and supporters of a comprehensive approach to an election-year issue.

The vote was 55-40 against a proposal by Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga, who said that anything less than a border security-first approach amounted to "a wink and a nod one more time to those who would come here" unlawfully.

Sens. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, and Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, were among the 40 senators voting for Isakson's proposal.

Republican and Democratic supporters of the sweeping Senate bill said Isakson's approach would be self-defeating and derail the approach that Bush backed in Monday night's prime time speech from the Oval Office.

"We have to have a comprehensive approach if we're going to gain control of the borders," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.

In a statement released late Monday, Inhofe said, "The legislative situation in Washington is almost as dire as the circumstances on our borders. I have long made it clear that I will not support amnesty, and the Senate bill's 'path to citizenship' is nothing more than amnesty, plain and simple.

"We cannot reward illegal immigrants for breaking the law, and we cannot allow for illegal immigrants to shortcut our nationalization process. I think the president said the right things, but he did not explain how he would carry out his plan."

Guard proposal

In regard to Bush's proposal to use up to 6,000 National Guard troops to support border security efforts, Inhofe said, "Our guardsmen are already overworked carrying out military operations, and while this idea may work as a temporary fix, it will not work in the long run. I reluctantly support this short-term use of our guardsmen given the unguarded state of our borders and President Bush's assurance that this is a temporary measure."

Rep. John Sullivan, R-Tulsa, scheduled a news conference for today with other House members to discuss their problems with the Senate legislation's guest worker provisions.

In his response to Bush's speech, Sullivan reiterated his objections to a guest worker program.

"Regardless of how long an illegal alien has resided in our country, this principle would effectively reward citizenship to lawbreakers," Sullivan said. "As the Senate continues to debate immigration reform, I stand firm in my stance to strengthen border security and interior immigration enforcement laws first."

Eager to blunt any political fallout from opposing Isakson's proposal, the bill's sponsors countered with an alternative of their own. It states immigration changes envisioned in the legislation could proceed if the president declared they were in the national security interests of the United States.

Unique protection

The Senate cast its first votes on the immigration bill as Bush renewed his call for Congress to act.

"The objective is, on the one hand, protect our borders; and, on the other hand, never lose sight of the thing that makes America unique which is, we're a land of immigrants and that we're not going to discriminate against people," he said at a news conference with Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Bush drew continued criticism from House Republicans for his speech, and the White House sought to emphasize the border security elements of the president's plan.

"This is going to be a tremendous enforcement support partnership," U.S. Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar told reporters at the White House.

"We can certainly do what is asked by our commander in chief," added Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, National Guard Bureau Chief.

Blum, Aguilar and others stressed that National Guard forces would function in support roles, leaving front-line law enforcement against illegal immigrants in the hands of federal Border Patrol agents.

Republicans expressed support for new attempts to secure America's porous borders, but they rebelled against another element of what Bush calls a comprehensive plan to alter immigration laws.

"Thinly veiled attempts to promote amnesty cannot be tolerated," said Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. "While America is a nation of immigrants, we are also a nation of laws, and rewarding those who break our laws not only dishonors the hard work of those who came here legally but does nothing to fix our current situation."