Activists will be holding three rallies today in South Carolina's largest cities, including Charleston, to protest the failure of legislation to broaden immigrant rights.

The protesters are calling the demonstrations the National Action for the Rights of Immigrants and are part of dozens of demonstrations nationwide - a signal that what began as a few scattered protests around the country has now become more coordinated.

"Immigrants are ready to receive the rights they should have. They are ready for a change," said Diana Salazar, march coordinator for the South Carolina Latinos Coalition, which helped organize the rallies in Charleston, Columbia and Greenville. "They contribute to the economy, and why not give them that fair chance?"

Activists say the failure of a bill in the U.S. Senate last week that would have given many illegal immigrants a chance to become citizens gives them a chance to regroup.

Part of their goal has been to recruit more Asian and Middle Eastern immigrants to what has been largely a Hispanic movement.

Today's group will be diverse, said Jim Campbell of Charleston, who is a national co-chairman of the Committees for Correspondents for Democracy and Socialism.

"Those who oppose immigrant rights would love to have blacks and Hispanics working against one another," Campbell said. "They would also love to use blacks against Hispanics in the same way that impoverished blacks were used as a threat to white workers in the beginning of the labor movement. But we are united in the fight to get equal rights for all people."

Many groups had been preparing to rally since December, when the House passed a bill to build more walls along the U.S.-Mexico border; make criminals of people who helped undocumented immigrants; and make it a felony to be in the country illegally.

Salazar says the group is asking Congress "to make policies consistent with humanitarian values, to support protections for undocumented workers and support due process rights for immigrants facing deportation."

Those opposed to amnesty for illegal immigrants say such a law could create problems.

"All this illegal immigration is killing wages and driving up home cost. It's also causing urban sprawl," said Kyle Rogers, chairman of the South Carolina chapter of the Council of Conservative Citizens. "It's also driving up health costs. And the list goes on and on."

Rogers, whose group rallied Saturday at the Statehouse, supports stronger borders.

But stronger borders will not address the challenges facing immigrants already in the country, Salazar said.

"A realistic immigration policy must be a two-way street," she said.

The coalition will collect signatures today for a petition that will be sent to South Carolina's congressional delegation.