Across the country, many mobilize against illegal immigration

Immigration has become an increasingly contentious political and social issue around the country.

Organizations patterned after the controversial "Minuteman Project" along the US-Mexico border have sprung up in New England, the Midwest, the South, and the Pacific Northwest. This has led to demonstrations and shouting matches with those opposed to what they call "vigilantes."

State and local officials are working to limit government services to illegal immigrants and their children (such as college tuition and worker's compensation), requiring proof of citizenship to get a driver's license and cracking down on day labor sites where men - many in the country illegally - gather to seek work.

Concerns over terrorism, identity theft, and the national methamphetamine epidemic (which is fueled by Mexican drug cartels and Hispanic gangs operating far from the border) are part of the picture. But some observers warn of an upsurge in "nativism" - the kind of anti-immigrant feeling that has swelled at other times in US history.

"This is a really significant issue right now," says Mark Pitcavage, a historian of extremist movements with the Anti-Defamation League and an adviser to law-enforcement agencies.

For years, says Dr. Pitcavage, some organizations have been critical of what they see as lax immigration policies promoted by both Republican and Democratic administrations.

There are about 11 million illegal immigrants in the US today, a figure that grows by some 500,000 a year, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. In a recent paper, the center's research director, Steven Camarota, reports that there now are more than 35 million immigrants (legal and illegal) living in the US. That amounts to more than 12 percent of the total population, the highest percentage in eight decades.

While many illegal immigrants enter the country to do jobs most US citizens shun, the National Research Council has estimated that the net cost of immigrants ranges from $11 billion to $22 billion a year. Camarota notes that the proportion of immigrant-headed households using at least one major welfare program is 29 percent, compared with 18 percent for native households.

Many immigration reformers are concerned that the kind of temporary guest worker program President Bush, businesses, and some members of Congress favor will exacerbate the situation.

"They need to fix the system," said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, in a fund-raising message. "Not only do they need to make the enforcement commitments work, they need to reduce immigration ... and eliminate the nepotistic family chain migration system that fuels the seeds of unmanageable immigration growth."

Recently, that concern about immigration has developed into a widespread political movement. But it's also developed more radical offshoots.

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