Burghart said ideas that were once on the fringe have been mainstreamed, using as evidence a quote by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke: "Every new immigrant adds to our crime problems, our welfare rolls and unemployment of American citizens . . ."

Burghart said Duke made the comment more than 20 years ago while attempting to garner support for a border watch effort, which he called similar to April's Minuteman Project, when citizens watched a stretch of the Arizona-Mexico border and reported crossers.

Among donors to two national groups — ProjectUSA and Federation for American Immigration Reform — is the Pioneer Fund, which at one time supported eugenics research, Burghart said.

He said Virginia Abernathy, a self-proclaimed white separatist, is leading Protect Arizona Now's national efforts.

Protect Arizona Now garnered support last fall for that state's Proposition 200, which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote and requires public officials to report suspected illegal immigrants seeking public benefits.

There are now efforts to pass such a proposition in other states, and Utah may be added to the list, Burghart said.

Burghardt said Abernathy is tied to several groups he calls "white supremacist," including the Council of Conservative Citizens, which on its Web site advocates segregation and opposes immigration of "non-Europeans and non-Western peoples."

Segura acknowledged there is a lot of fear attached to the "old racist card. . . . People don't want to be seen as racist, yet they have a real concern about what's going on."

Segura said, however, he doesn't think the Utah Minuteman Project would be seeing growing support if he, or any of its members, were "spouting and endorsing" racism.

"Here in Utah, we have one objective and one objective only," he said. "There's nothing about skin color."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com