WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate moved Thursday to delay a politically charged showdown vote on legislation carving out a path to legal status for foreign-born youngsters brought to this country illegally, putting off but probably not preventing the measure’s demise.

Facing GOP objections, Democrats put aside the so-called Dream Act and said they’d try again to advance it before year’s end. They’re short of the 60 votes needed to do so, however, and critics in both parties quickly said they won’t change their minds in the waning days of the Democratic-controlled Congress.

“This is mainly a political exercise rather than a serious attempt to deal with our broken immigration system,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, one of several Democrats who have broken with their leaders to oppose the bill, said he too would block efforts to consider it.

The bill grants hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children a chance to gain legal status if they enroll in college or join the military.

In the Senate, Democrats had virtually no chance of attracting any GOP support to move the legislation since all 42 Republicans have signed a letter pledging to block action on any issue until bills to extend expiring tax cuts and fund the government were completed.

It targets the most sympathetic of the millions of undocumented people – those brought to the United States as children, who in many cases consider themselves American, speak English and have no ties to or family living in their native countries.

Critics denounce the bill as a backdoor amnesty grant that would encourage more foreigners to sneak into the United States in hopes of eventually being legalized as well.

With the GOP taking control of the House and representing a stronger minority in the Senate next year, failure to enact the legislation by year’s end would dim the prospects for action by Congress to grant a path toward legalization for the nation’s millions of undocumented immigrants.

The legislation would apply to illegal immigrants brought to the United States before the age of 16, who have been here for five years and graduated from high school or gained an equivalency degree, and who join the military or attend college.