Accusing Republicans of betraying family values, Senator Clinton said a House immigration bill would turn “probably even Jesus himself” into a criminal.

A relative latecomer to the charged immigration debate, Mrs. Clinton yesterday spoke passionately to a gathering of a broad spectrum of New York’s immigrant leaders. Her comments come amid a local groundswell of activity in preparation for a Senate vote Monday that is expected to determine the nature of immigration reform.

While the House has passed an enforcement-only bill, the Senate is debating creating new legal avenues for America’s estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, and a new program for guest workers to enter the country. Mrs. Clinton, a potential 2008 presidential candidate, refrained from endorsing a specific bill, but her comments were for the most part along the lines of what immigrant groups in New York want to hear. In particular, she condemned the House bill and she endorsed creating a system that would allow illegal immigrants to earn citizenship.

The House bill would make unlawful presence in America, currently a civil offense, into a felony. It would also criminalize anyone who knowingly provides assistance to an illegal immigrant. The archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahoney, last month instructed the priests of his archdiocese to disobey the law, saying it violated their obligation to the law of God.

Mrs. Clinton, who previously said the bill would move America toward a “police state,” also invoked biblical language yesterday. “It is certainly not in keeping with my understanding of the Scriptures,” Mrs. Clinton said, “because this bill would literally criminalize the Good Samaritan.”

Although pleased for the most part with her statements, immigrant leaders in attendance yesterday said Mrs. Clinton could do more to effect change in Congress. She was explicit in her criticism of the House bill, but many immigrant groups have been frustrated that it has taken her so long to speak out against the legislation, which passed the House in December. This feeling was exacerbated because she, like Senator Schumer, first chose to do so in a forum with the Irish community, whose illegal population is relatively tiny.

“What I would like to see is her participating in a bigger forum or in a big action with immigrant groups of color,” the director of the Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights, Raquel Batista, said.

Mrs. Clinton said the advocates must present the face of illegal immigrants for the American public to see. A leader of the coalition Immigrant Communities in Action, Monami Maulik, said it is incumbent on political leaders to stand with New York’s illegal residents and meet with them. “We want to see more of a risk and her standing side by side with millions of people who are going to become criminals,” she said.

In the meantime, New York’s diverse and often splintered immigrant communities are springing into action, and, in many cases, banding together for the first time. While there are no protests planned on the massive scale that took place in Chicago last week – where more than 100,000 immigrants turned out to speak out against the House bill and push for a legalization program – there are grassroots stirrings throughout the city.

This Saturday, one group will march in downtown Manhattan to highlight the plight of children left behind in America since 1996 immigration laws allowed for increased deportation of legal residents. Also Saturday, local politicians will speak to the more than 1,000 immigrants expected at a town hall in Queens, and Sunday there will be a rally in Washington Heights. On Monday, thousands of immigrants and their advocates are expected to board buses for Washington to pressure the Judiciary Committee to vote for a bill that would include a path to legal status.

“We’re terrified that unlawful presence is going to become a felony,” said Aarti Shahani, an organizer with Families for Freedom, a group that is leading one of the Saturday rallies. “What this challenge has given us is it’s made us connect to each other. The struggle is how to work in rhythm when the opposition is very coordinated.”