NEW ORLEANS, THE UNITED STATES, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The fourth annual summit of leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico, dubbed the "Three Amigos summit," got underway Monday in New Orleans, the city still marred by the 2005 Hurricane Katrina, amid tight security and sporadic protests.

    During the two-day event, U.S. President George W. Bush will confer with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in promoting integrated trade and security arrangements under the framework of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP).

    With street closures and traffic restrictions, security was tightest around in the Central Business District, where the North American leaders will engage in most of their summit-related activities.

    But the morning scene inside the Gallier Hall, a historic building which used to serve as New Orleans' city hall, was messy as workers were still in last-minute preparations for Bush's arrival later in the day for a meeting with business executives.

    Local police and secret service agents lined the streets surrounding the luxury Windsor-Court Hotel, where the three leaders will be staying during the summit, effectively blocking traffic and authorized personnel from getting too close.

    Prior to the leaders' arrival, under the watch of police officers, a small number of protesters gathered in front of the hotel, chanting anti-summit slogans and waving placards that read: "No North American Union", "U.S. citizens say no to tyranny," etc.

    "They (The leaders) are doing this without consulting with the American people," Thomas Anderson, a protester from Texas, told Xinhua, saying that they were calling for transparency from the meeting.

    Anderson accused the leaders at the summit of ignoring the concerns of ordinary people and engaging in secrete discussions that violate the U.S. constitution and endanger the sovereignty of the United States.

    Jim Stachowiak, a New Orleans native who operates an independent on-line radio station, said that through their protests, they wanted the American people to know that the "real enemies" are not in Iraq, but "in Washington D.C.."

    "We are pleading, begging them to listen to the American people," Stachowiak said.

    The protesters demonstrated for several hours outside the hotel and later left peacefully in the afternoon. But elsewhere in the business district, small groups of demonstrators could still be seen sporadically.

    Some activists said they expected protests of larger scale to take place on Tuesday when Bush, Harper and Calderon are due to have a more formal meeting before wrapping up the summit.