"We want justice and dignity," Yapias said. "This is going to become our symbol."

It's questionable how much support such a boycott would receive. Managers at a handful of businesses contacted by Deseret Morning News declined to comment.

School officials in Utah, Sanpete and Juab counties plan an April 28 Hispanic student leadership conference at Utah Valley State College and hope students will opt to attend instead of boycotting school.

University of Utah economist Thomas Maloney said it would be difficult to estimate a dollar figure for the impact of a one-day walkout.

Maloney, co-author of "Mexico and Utah: A Complex Economic Relationship," which estimates that Utah's Mexican immigrants — legal and illegal — are highly concentrated in semi-skilled manufacturing jobs. They're also concentrated in service and labor jobs.

"It depends on how you think the impact is made," he said. "I don't think they intend to harm the pocketbook. . . . It's a demonstration to say, 'Imagine this going on for weeks or months.' "

President Bush has repeatedly urged Congress to approve a bill that tightens border security at the same time it addresses the problem of the nation's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants.

Debate in the Senate stalled before the recess when a sweeping reform measure was closed to amendments. The bill would provide for stronger border security, regulate the future entry of foreign workers and create a complex new set of regulations for illegal immigrants already here. Officials said an estimated 9 million of them — those who could show they had been in the United States for more than two years — would eventually become eligible for citizenship under the proposal.

"The temporary worker program clearly contributes to securing the borders," Bennett said. "Dealing with the ones already here in an intelligent way will make a guest worker program more effective and more attractive. . . . Right now it's a mess all the way around."

Critics of the measure, including Hatch, argue it amounts to amnesty, and they have worked over the past two weeks to undermine its support. But Bush has made it clear he wants legislation, and some Republicans hope they can send him a bill and gain credit with voters increasingly dissatisfied with Congress.

Hatch sponsored the DREAM Act, which would give youths a way to legal status through higher education, military service, or community service. However, Hatch made it clear he doesn't support amnesty and won't vote for a bill just because it includes the DREAM Act. At the same time, he acknowledged the need for a comprehensive solution.

"Virtually every business in Utah is saying, "We can't live without our undocumented workers,' " Hatch said.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told reporters last week he intends to increase enforcement efforts at places of employment.

Federal agents last week arrested seven current and former managers of IFCO Systems, and nearly 1,200 other people on administrative immigration charges.

---

Contributing: Associated Press

---

E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com