LOS ANGELES, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The May Day rallies could createa backlash against illegal immigrants and polarize the public, thus making it harder for Congress to negotiate the thorny issue, the Los Angeles Times warned in an article published on its website on Tuesday.

    Some senators who back broader immigration reform feared that the protests could make their work harder, said the Times.

    "To get thoughtful legislation passed is going to be harder themore emotions get inflamed on either side of the debate," Republican Senator Mary Bono was quoted as saying. "It's overwhelmingly polarizing people, and the majority of my constituents are upset" about the boycott.

    Bono last year voted for the controversial House bill that sparked the massive marches by proposing to criminalize illegal migrants and build a 700-mile fence on the U.S.-Mexican border.

    The nationwide marches reached their climax on May Day, drawingmore than 1 million people into the streets in major cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Washington.

    The Senate may resume debate on overhauling the immigration bill as early as next week.

    In contrast, the Senate Judiciary Committee in March passed a bill viewed as more favorable to immigrants. It includes an expanded guest worker program and a chance for undocumented migrants currently in the U.S. to gain legal status by paying a fine and learning English, among other steps.

    President George W. Bush, while trying to reach a conciliatory approach, has said he favored a guest-worker program that would include a pathway to citizenship, while enforcing border controls.

    In the aftermath of Monday's "Day Without Immigrants," the urgent question immigrants and their supporters face was how to translate the passion of the streets into lasting political gains,said the Times.

    In coming months, immigrant rights organizers said, they would shift their energy into making a difference at the polls through registering voters, helping legal immigrants become citizens and getting out the vote in June primary elections around the nation.

    "This is only the beginning," said Hilda Delgado of Local 1877 of the Service Employees International Union in Los Angeles. "Now we have to reroute all of the energy and momentum and start registering to vote to send a clear message [for immigration reform] to the Senate and House in Washington."

    Pew Hispanic Center Director Roberto Suro said Latinos must nowconvince the broader public that legislation expanding guest worker programs and offering undocumented immigrants a chance to gain legal status would be good for the nation.

    That message, however, would be fought by immigration control advocates, who said the last two months of marches and rallies haddrawn recruits to their cause of cracking down on illegal immigration, according to the Times.

    The mass rallies, warned the Times, would not move conservativeRepublicans who backed the House legislation to soften their legislative stance or have any regret about passing a bill that has sparked such opposition. Enditem