U.S. corporations have actively lobbied the U.S. Congress for immigration reformincluding legalization for many of the estimated 11 million undocumented migrants.

Mexicans’ refusal to ‘‘buy American’’ on Monday couldfurther polarize the debate and make reform supporters seem anti-American at the verymoment that lobbyists are trying to persuade lawmakers in Washington to pass a bill thatwould benefit migrants, worries Larry Rubin, the chamber’s president.

Migrants and their supporters in the United States are being encouraged to skip workand school and not spend money for one day to demonstrate the migrants’ importanceto the U.S. economy.

South of the border, Mexicans are targeting American stores and chain restaurants -‘‘That means no Dunkin’ Donuts, no McDonald’s, Burger King,Starbucks, Sears, Krispy Kreme or Wal-Mart,’’ reads one e-mail making therounds.

But even activists are confused about which companies are U.S.-owned. Sears is citedby boycott organizers, despite the fact that Sears’ Mexico stores were bought byMexican billionaire Carlos Slim in 1997. And few organizers mention Vips - the chain ofubiquitous Mexican diners - even though they are owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

A quarter of Mexico’s formal private-sector jobs with regular pay are providedby U.S. firms, according to the chamber, including Walmex, the Mexican Wal-Martsubsidiary that is the nation’s biggest private employer with 140,000 workers.Delphi Corp., the U.S. auto parts maker, is second with 70,000 workers.

The chamber represents more than 2,000 American and other foreign companies doingbusiness in Mexico, and says its members are responsible for $100 billion of investmentin the country.

The companies say they’re helping Mexico by providing jobs, but activistscounter they pay so little that Mexicans have little choice but to head north. Backers ofthe Mexican boycott insisted Wednesday that the protest could send a message thatAmerican companies should offer better pay and benefits to their Mexican workers.

Unskilled workers at U.S. companies usually start with Mexico’s minimum wage of$4.35 a day. While many earn more, such as seamstresses making an average of $5.89 a day- even these wages pale in comparison to paychecks offered by the same companies north ofthe border, conceded the chamber’s Humberto Banuelos.

A cashier at Subway (or ‘‘sandwich artist,’’ as the companyrefers to them) earns about $189 a month in Mexico City. In Colorado, Subway cashiersmake four times that - $824.

‘‘Yes, we are aware that they are the largest employers in the Mexicanrepublic, but they are paying crumbs,’’ said Martha Suarez Cantu, coordinatorof Alianza Braceroproa, a Mexican labor-rights group helping organize the boycott.

The only way to stem immigration is to narrow the income gap between the twocountries, said Robert Pastor, director of the Center for North American Studies atAmerican University in Washington. He pointed to the European Union, where migrationslowed after heavy investment reduced the income gap in its poorer countries.

Washington does not invest directly in job creation in Mexico. The U.S. Agency forInternational Development gave Mexico $31 million last year, but it went towardscholarships, tuberculosis, AIDS prevention and advice to lending institutions.

But raising wages would cause Mexico to lose ground to countries with cheaper labor,such as China and India. Felix Boni, director of equity research at Scotiabank’sMexican brokerage firm, suggested boosting Mexico’s productivity and jobgrowth.

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