Police tell WSB"s Jeff Dantre they estimated at least 50-thousand people, many in white T-shirts and waving signs and American flags, joined a two-mile march from a largely immigrant neighborhood northeast of Atlanta.

The Georgia protesters had two targets: congressmen weighing immigration reform and state legislation now awaiting Governor Perdue's signature that would require adults seeking many state-administered benefits to prove they are in the U-S legally.

Nineth Castillo, a 26-year-old waitress from Guatemala who joined the Atlanta march, said she has lived in the United States for eleven years ``without a scrap of paper.''

Asked whether she was afraid to parade her undocumented status in front of a massive police presence, she laughed and said: ``Why? They kick us out, we're coming back tomorrow.''

In North Carolina and Dallas, immigrant groups called for an economic boycott to show their financial impact. In Pittsburgh and other cities, protesters gathered at lawmakers' offices to make their voices heard as Congress considers immigration reforms.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)