LOS ANGELES - What is being hailed as the largest gathering of Latino leaders in decades began Wednesday with promises to re-energize a campaign urging lawmakers to offer a path to citizenship to over 11 million illegal immigrants.

The four-day National Latino Congreso comes as the U.S. Congress returns for its fall session having all but shelved immigration reform after the issue dominated the national agenda earlier this year.

The gathering of hundreds also comes as the immigration reform movement that brought hundreds of thousands of marchers to the streets this spring tries to regain momentum following internal divisions and summer vacations.

"This conference is designed to get us back on the offensive," said John Trasvina, interim president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. "Congress is doing nothing for Latino issues."

Sessions include speeches and workshops on registering Latino voters, running Latino political candidates, wage gaps between Latinos and whites, environmental issues and a lack of access to health care in immigrant communities.

Speakers include Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony, an outspoken advocate of legalizing undocumented immigrants, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, and the Rev. Al Sharpton. The conference culminates Saturday afternoon with a rally.

The idea for the gathering developed several years ago when a handful of Latino leaders reviewed census data and noted Latinos still lagged far behind whites in wages, education and access to health care, said Antonio Gonzalez, president of the Texas-based William Velasquez Institute, a think tank focusing on Latino issues.

In 1977, Latino leaders met in San Antonio to confront issues of inequality, problems Gonzalez said have changed very little since then.

"The gap between Latinos and the white majority has not diminished in 30 years," said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez said the data were especially alarming because Latinos are projected to overtake whites as the country's largest group by 2050.

"The challenge of preparing us for our rightful role in America hasn't been fleshed out," he said.

During Wednesday's opening remarks, organizers said efforts to register thousands of new voters -- a promised legacy of protesters this spring -- would intensify as November's congressional elections approached.

So far, there is little indication of any such potent political legacy. An Associated Press review this week of voter registration figures from Chicago, Denver, Houston, Atlanta, Los Angeles and other major urban areas that saw large rallies showed no sign of a historic new voter boom that could sway elections.