US: President Bush has spoken out against a planned boycott on Monday of work, schools and shops by illegal immigrants and their supporters.
Immigrant groups say they want to bring American cities to a halt by urging an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants to stay away from work and schools and to avoid buying anything.
Some immigrant groups, including the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, oppose the boycott and Mr Bush urged immigrants to ignore it.
"You know, I'm not a supporter of boycotts. I am a supporter of comprehensive immigration . . . You know, I think it's very important for people, when they do express themselves, they continue to do so in a peaceful way, in a respectful way, respectful of . . . how highly charged this debate can become," he said.
Jorge Rodriguez, one of the organizers of Monday's protests, predicted the biggest demonstrations America has seen since the civil rights marches of the 1960s.
"There will be 2 to 3 million people hitting the streets in Los Angeles alone. We're going to close down Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Tucson, Phoenix, Fresno," he said.
A crackdown on illegal immigrants has created panic among some groups of undocumented workers, who have stayed away from work this week.
More than 1,000 people were detained this week in a sweep on factories throughout the US.
Mr Bush has backed a reform proposal under discussion in the US senate that would allow most illegal immigrants to remain in the US and embark on a path to earned citizenship.
"I want a comprehensive bill, one that enforces the border . . . one that provides a temporary worker process for people, one that does not provide automatic citizenship . . . one that allows somebody here to be able to get in - if they want to be a citizen, to be able to get in line, but not the front of the line but the back of the line," he said yesterday.
The president condemned a recording of the US national anthem in Spanish, released yesterday in support of, and to coincide with, the campaign for immigration reform.
"I think the national anthem ought to be sung in English. And I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English, and they ought to learn to sing the national anthem in English," he said.
