< Previous page

She said those who join the group go through a background check and telephone interview, to ensure they aren't racist. Then, they are trained to go to any business they suspect of hiring illegal immigrants and hand them information about immigration laws.

The group's leaders hope to appeal to those who believe that illegal immigrants take American jobs, burden schools, spread disease and commit crimes.

But some supporters are concerned about the new tactics. Reagan Sugg of Greensboro, a Minuteman who participated in one of the group's border operations, says he's uncomfortable with the group's new philosophy.

"I'm not going to picket an employer just because I suspect he's hiring illegals, because unless I'm given permission to inspect documents, I don't know," Sugg said this week. "I don't think it serves the cause to participate in activities than can be perceived as harassment."

Mark Potok, who monitors hate groups for the Alabama-based civil rights group, Southern Poverty Law Center, said the rapidly growing anti-immigration movement will almost certainly become more visible in states such as North Carolina, where Hispanic immigration is transforming communities. He said many of the groups, including the Minutemen, have traits reminiscent of the militia movement of the 1990s.

"They encompass a scary combination of bigotry, of conspiracy theories and of a real affinity for weapons," Potok said.

He said claims being made about Mexicans who cross the border illegally -- that they carry diseases such as leprosy and tuberculosis, that they are prone to gang rape or child molestation -- are similar to claims made about immigrants throughout history.

Marisol Jiminez-McGee, advocacy director for El Pueblo, a Raleigh non-profit that represents Latinos, said she worries that all Latinos will soon be suspects.

"If I choose to be speaking Spanish, does that mean that I become a viable target for the Minutemen?" she said. "These are not things that are going to offer real solutions to our broken immigration system."

(News researcher Brooke Cain contributed to this report.)

< Previous page