Behind the movement: Groups step up efforts to tighten the borders

The poll, with a 5 percent margin of error, showed 74 percent of those polled supported the efforts of private independent groups such as the Utah Minuteman Project.

However, 57 percent of those polled said they favor a program that would allow undocumented immigrants now living in America to remain in the country and earn citizenship without penalty.

Immigration arguments

As he eyed the southern border, Minuteman Darrel Wood says that a Mexican reporter told him why so many people come to America illegally.

It relates to the North American Free Trade Agreement, he says. "Farmers can't compete with their own government. They're forced to sell their farms, sell everything and walk."

Wood is among those who sees a growing surge of illegal immigrants threatening to overwhelm social systems from hospitals to schools, although he and others have expressed sympathy for those risking their lives to cross the border.

They also see a closed border as critical to national security in the post 9/11 world. They acknowledge the overwhelming majority of illegal immigrants aren't dangerous. But the borders are also open to criminals, including drug dealers and terrorists. Some opponents want a temporary halt to all immigration while the nation verifies who's here.

Minuteman McCormick, 68, says illegal immigration was never an issue for him until he visited his hometown of Anaheim, Calif., last year.

"I noticed a drastic difference and a feeling from most people that I wasn't welcome anymore," he said.

McCormick is typical of the opponents' demographic— many Utah Minutemen are non-Hispanic, white and senior citizens.

Of the opponents, many who attend meetings and protests don't want to be publicly identified.

It's a fear of being labeled a "racist," or a fear for their safety, Segura says. "Too many people think it's a criminal element," he said.

For example, one elderly woman, at a recent meeting, said she believes her neighbors are illegal immigrants, and she fears increasing crime in her neighborhood.

The Minutemen are Utah's newest anti-illegal immigration group, but there is an earlier group organized by two Utah County residents.

In summer 2003, Mike Sizer and Alma Morales founded Utahns for Immigration Reform and Enforcement, with the help of former state lawmaker Matt Throckmorton.

Others, including Segura, joined in the effort. Sizer said about 30 people attended the group's first meeting, and its membership increased to 350 after Tancredo's recent visit.

UFIRE describes itself as an organization of citizens concerned about Utah's laws that members believe reward illegal immigration.