Community activists have said that Immigration reform should be a matter for the U. S. government to resolve and not left for Arizona and other states to settle.

The Arizona Republic has reported that to promote that message, a group of about 200 people gathered in a parking lot in downtown Phoenix Sunday to spell out "S. O. S. Congress" with their bodies while being photographed from a high-rise apartment balcony.

The newspaper further said that with Arizona's controversial immigration law going into effect next month, protesters have been pressuring federal lawmakers to enact comprehensive national immigration reform.

The protest organizer says she wanted people to know not everyone in Arizona supports the upcoming law.

Kimber Lanning, a Phoenix community activist and business owner, said, "I just felt I had to explain to the rest of the country that we are a diverse state. It's important that people don't hastily rush into this. The issue is very, very complex."

She was dismayed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's recent remark that "the majority" of illegal immigrants were bringing drugs into the country, a statement many officials have denounced, said another protester.

Amie Kafer, who attended Sunday's protest with her mother, said, "All a statement like that does is inflame people already on edge." (With Inputs from Agencies)