CHICAGO – A day after putting aside the American flag and protest sign he carried during an immigration march in Chicago, Luis Dominguez said Wednesday he is turning his attention to looming legislative battles 600 miles away in Washington. With immigrants and supporters rallying nationwide for a second straight year, the 62-year-old Dominguez said he believes Tuesday’s display will help spur politicians to adopt immigration reform.

“I think the purpose of the march paid off,” said Dominguez, who was born in Mexico and has U.S. citizenship. “Immigrants used to live in the shadows. This… showed the people of the United States that we are here, we exist.”

However, turnout was down sharply from the marches a year ago, when more than 1 million people turned out nationwide. In Chicago, where more than 400,000 swarmed the streets last year, police put initial estimates at 150,000, by far the largest turnout. In Los Angeles, where several hundred thousand turned out a year earlier, only 25,000 people were on hand for a march marred by clashes with police.

“Last year, it was easy,” said Isabel Garcia, a key organizer of the May 1st Coalition in Tucson, Ariz. “Everybody was gathering – the politicians, radio stations across the country were promoting this march for what was called comprehensive immigration reform. That phrase has been watered down and lost.”

Last year’s effort was galvanized by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner’s proposal calling for felony prosecution of illegal immigrants. Now, Garcia said, there has been a major division among proponents over legislation before Congress that would give illegal immigrants six years of temporary legal status, but then require them to return home before seeking U.S. citizenship.

“A year ago, we were all against something, and it is very easy to united people against something,” said Joshua Hoyt, the executive director of the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights. “We all know what we hate but what do we agree on? That’s harder.”