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Tens of thousands of protesters rallied across the United States on Monday demanding rights for millions of undocumented immigrants in the country, days after the Senate failed to pass a legislation that would allow many of them to work for US citizenship.

In Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, many demonstrators gathered at the National Mall, chanting "USA.," waving American national flags and holding signs, some of which read "We Have a Dream Too," "Legalization, Not Criminalization" and "We Are Not Criminals."

The march in Washington was one of many held around the country, which attracted numerous participants, a lot of them undocumented immigrants who have been in the United States for years doing low-paying jobs.

In Atlanta, at least 50,000 people turned out for the demonstration, and demonstrations were also staged in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Phoenix and New York, and scores of other cities.

Some of the demonstrators in Atlanta blamed the Congress for its failure to come to an agreement before its members left on vacation over the weekend. "Congress, go back to work," a sign held by a woman said.

Last Friday, an effort at the Senate to approve the most sweeping immigration changes in two decades was derailed by disputes over amendments and other issues, despite a compromise a day earlier that Democrats and Republicans hailed as a breakthrough.

The Senate bill would open doors to citizenship for most illegal immigrants, estimated at more than 11 million, on condition that they paid fines and taxes, learned English, and passed other tests.

It would also create a guest worker program for 325,000 people a year to meet the needs of businesses, and would tighten border security to satisfy conservatives.

With lawmakers now on a two-week break, the future of the Senate legislation was uncertain. But Senator Arlen Specter, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, has pledged to have the measure ready for debate when Congress resumes.

The real hurdle for the measure to get enacted, however, was in the House of Representatives, which passed legislation last December calling for criminal penalties for people living illegally in the country and for building a long wall along part of the US-Mexican border to keep illegal immigrants out of the United States.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll released on Monday showed that 75 percent of Americans believed US authorities were not doing enough to stop illegal immigration, but many - 63 percent - favored a program that would lead to legal status and permanent citizenship for illegal immigrants.

President George W. Bush has been urging the Congress to approve a temporary worker program that would allow illegal immigrants to remain in the country and have some legal status.

Speaking after a speech on the war on terror in Washington on Monday, Bush said the demonstrations were "a sign that this is an important issue that people feel strongly about."

But House members remained adamant on the issue. "You have to remember, illegal aliens are just that, illegal," House Majority Leader John Boehner said on ABC's "This Week" program on Sunday.

Representative Tom Tancredo, one of the leading opponents of legislation that would allow illegal immigrants to remain in the country and work toward citizenship, called the stalemate on the Senate bill last week "a good day for America."

(Xinhua News Agency April 11, 2006)