SHENANDOAH, PA. - Luis Ramirez came to the United States six years ago from Mexico to look for work, landing in this town in Pennsylvania's coal region. He found steady employment, fathered two children and, his fiancee said, occasionally endured harassment by white residents. Now, he is headed back to Mexico in a coffin.

The 25-year-old illegal immigrant was beaten over the weekend after an argument with a group of youths, including some players on the town's beloved high school football team, police said. Despite witness reports that the attackers yelled ethnic slurs, authorities say the beating wasn't racially motivated.

Hate crime or not, the killing has exposed long-simmering tensions in Shenandoah, a blue-collar town of 5,000 about 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia with a growing number of Hispanic residents drawn by jobs in factories and farm fields.

An investigation continues, and no charges have been filed, but police say as many as six teens were involved. The fight left Ramirez in convulsions and foaming at the mouth. He died early Monday of head injuries.

Crystal Dillman, 24, Ramirez's fiancee, who is white and grew up in Shenandoah, said Ramirez was often called derogatory names, including "dirty Mexican," and told to return to his homeland.

"People in this town are very racist toward Hispanic people. They think right away if you're Mexican, you're illegal, and you're no good," said Dillman, who has two young children by Ramirez and a 3-year-old who thought of him as her father.

On Dillman's fireplace mantel hangs a medallion of Jesus that Ramirez was wearing the night he was beaten. Ramirez had an imprint of the medallion on his chest, she said, created when an assailant stomped on him.

Police Chief Matthew Nestor acknowledged problems as the community has tried to adjust to an influx of Hispanics, who now constitute as much as 10 percent of the population.

Teenagers have sprayed racially tinged graffiti and yelled racial slurs at the newcomers, he said.

"Some people could adapt to the changes, and some just have a difficult time doing it," Nestor said.

Police have determined that Ramirez, who worked in a factory and picked strawberries and cherries, got into an argument with a group of youths that escalated into a fight in which he was badly outnumbered.

"From what we understand right now, it wasn't racially motivated," Nestor said. "This looks like a street fight that went wrong."

The players' possible involvement has added to interest in the case. Football, along with the town's many block parties and festivals, is a major attraction; home games typically draw thousands of fans.

Shenandoah Valley High School principal Phillip Andras said he knew little about the alleged involvement of any football players.

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