Thousands Rally Nationwide in Support of an Immigration Overhaul Thousands of supporters of an immigration overhaul held rallies on Saturday at more than 150 sites in 40 states, trying to pressure Congress, despite the partisan turmoil in Washington, to focus on passing a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants here illegally. Hoping to display the wide reach of their movement, advocates held larger rallies in immigrant strongholds like Los Angeles, San Diego and Boston, with smaller demonstrations in places where immigrant groups have grown up recently, including Omaha, Neb.; Little Rock, Ark.; and Yakima, Wash. Organizers described the events, and a large rally they have planned for Tuesday on the National Mall in Washington, as their major show of force this year. On what they were calling a "National Day of Immigrant Dignity and Respect," supporters said they expected as many as 100,000 people nationwide. But the demonstrations came when few lawmakers on Capitol Hill were thinking about immigration, with the federal government shut down and the House of Representatives locked in a feud with President Obama and Democrats over health care and debt funding. Even while advocates have built up their strength - with a broad coalition of business, labor, religious and law enforcement groups calling for a comprehensive bill - they fear that momentum is slipping away for Congress to act this year. In Birmingham, Ala., several hundred demonstrators convened for a rally in a downtown park, then marched chanting through the center of town. Rally speakers, including Benard Simelton, the president of the N.A.A.C.P. in Alabama, portrayed the immigration effort as part of broader civil rights activism in the state. Many immigrants marched with small children. "I know there has been a shutdown, but we want Congress to know that the time is now to act," said Evelyn Servin, an immigrant advocate. We don't want any more deportations. The respect we deserve is really needed here in Alabama. In California, protests and vigils were held in 21 cities. In San Diego, several thousand people gathered in Balboa Park on the edge of downtown. They marched to the sound of drumbeats and horns shouting "Si se puede" ("Yes we can" in Spanish). Ana Nuñez, 30, a student, said she had been living in the United States since 1989 without documents but recently received a temporary deportation deferral. She said that she had not seen her ailing grandparents since leaving Mexico and that she hoped for permanent legal status so she could travel to see them. "I want to physically feel them," Ms. Nuñez said, holding a yellow sign reading "Citizenship for 11 million #timeisnow." Also in San Diego, Gloria Morales, 45, said she came from Mexico but became an American citizen in 2000. She said she was demonstrating to support other immigrants. "I know how painful it is to go through a broken system," she said. We're here so they don't forget about us. It's time for Obama to give us what he promised us. While the demonstrations were unfolding, Gov. Jerry Brown of California signed into law eight bills on Saturday expanding protections for immigrants in the state, including for those without legal papers. One bill restricted the ability of local and state police to detain immigrants on the basis of holds issued by federal enforcement officials, if the immigrants had not been arrested for serious offenses. Many events were focused on House Republican lawmakers whom advocates hope to persuade to vote for the overhaul. The United Farm Workers and the Fresno County Farm Bureau, together with other California labor and growers" organizations, kicked off a campaign to collect 10,000 petitions asking Representative Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from Bakersfield, to support an overhaul. In Illinois, 26 marchers from church groups finished a 30-mile walk at the Taylorville offices of Representative Rodney Davis, a Republican. Many were immigrants here without legal papers, marchers said. In Boston, some 1,000 demonstrators marched on Boylston Street, bustling with shoppers. The marchers headed down the street, hoisting signs with messages like "Don't Deport My Mom." Wilmer Carranza, a 16-year-old high school student who said his parents were here without immigration papers, said he was frustrated by the slow pace of immigration action in Washington. "What if they get deported?" he said, referring to his parents. What if I'm alone? What am I going to do? On Wednesday, Democrats in the House of Representatives, at the urging of the minority leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, introduced a bill that closely matched broad legislation passed by the Senate in June, including a path to citizenship for all 11.7 million illegal immigrants in the country. Sponsors of that bill included Representatives Joe Garcia of Florida and Judy Chu of California. The House bill had no Republican sponsors, so its prospects were uncertain at best. But it gave advocates something to rally around, after a bipartisan House group working to write legislation fell apart last month. Two Republican representatives who were part of that group, Sam Johnson and John Carter, both of Texas, said they decided to leave because they could not trust Mr. Obama to enforce any immigration laws that Congress might pass. Several House Republican leaders, including Representative Robert Goodlatte of Virginia, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, have said they hoped to hold votes on smaller immigration bills during the fall. Mr. Goodlatte's committee has approved bills that would sharply tighten immigration enforcement and provide more visas for highly skilled workers, but no bill so far that offers a legal pathway to immigrants here illegally. Supporters contend there is already enough support in the House, between Republicans and Democrats, to pass a comprehensive bill including citizenship for unauthorized immigrants, if the speaker, John A. Boehner of Ohio, would bring it up for a vote. Rob Davis contributed reporting from San Diego, and Jess Bidgood from Boston.