Little Rock - The Arkansas Senate voted down a measure to give in-state college tuition to the children of illegal immigrants. 

Legislators debated the bill for more than an hour on Monday, even quoting scripture at one point.  The measure would have let undocumented students who've gone to an Arkansas high school for three years to pay in-state tuition for college.

(Senator Joyce Elliott, (D) Little Rock) "All this bill does is ask us to take a stand to allow kids who need somebody to stand in the gap for them to have a chance for a college degree."

Opponents say the measure violates federal law, that the state can't give the lower tuition rate to undocumented students without giving the same to all students-even out of state.

(Senator Jerry Taylor, (D) Pine Bluff) "Why would you let a citizen here illegally attend your universities at a rate lower than you charge a U.S. Citizen?"

(Senator Denny Altes, (R) Fort Smith)  "Are we going to encourage people to do things legally or illegally?

The debate on the floor became lengthy, with one member even citing the bible as support for the measure.

(Senator Jimmy Jeffress, (D) Crossett) “The aliens living with you must be treated as one of your native born. Treat him as yourself. You were once aliens in Egypt."

In the end, the vote was closer than some expected.

"With 21 votes for, 13 against, the bill fails."

The bill needed 18 votes to pass. Sponsor Joyce Elliott says she is disappointed, but not defeated.

(Elliott)  "We have a process by which we can expunge a vote and try again. We will continue to try and get the four more votes."

The governor has said he's against the bill, but stopped short of saying he would veto it if it eventually gets through.

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