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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- When Mexican President Vicente Fox visits Utah next week, the Utah Minuteman Project and possibly other groups opposed to illegal immigration will hold protests.
The group plans protests May 23 at the governor's mansion and May 24 at the Capitol.
Jeff McNeil, a Utah Minuteman, said he will be among 150 or so people who plan to protest undocumented workers, if the group's permit is approved by the Secret Service. The federal agency provides security for visiting heads of state.
McNeil said he is angry Gov. Jon Huntsman invited Fox, who leaves office in December.
Fox should be "considerate of the United States and help to protect its borders and sovereignty," McNeil said. "And if he's going to come, most of the things he needs to talk about are how he is going to do that."
Trade will be the main topic when Fox visits, Huntsman spokesman Mike Mower said earlier.
Wally McCormick, a Utah Minuteman who has twice patrolled the U.S.-Mexico border, said it is important to protest during Fox's visit "to get our word out to the public officials. Each one of us represents 1,000 people who wish they could be here doing the same thing."
By allowing undocumented workers to remain here, taking advantage of programs and benefits paid for with tax dollars, the United States is encouraging illegal immigration, he said.
Phyllis Sears, chairwoman of the Citizens Council on Illegal Immigration, said her organization's board will discuss what the group will do during Fox's visit, but it is unlikely members will travel to Salt Lake City during the visit. Most plan to attend the second national "Unite to Fight" illegal immigration conference in Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend, she said.
Mike Sizer, chairman of Utahns for Immigration Reform and Enforcement -- UFIRE, said Fox's visit has stirred interest among advocates for changes in immigration laws.
"Certainly a lot of people have been asking about it and calling about it, wondering about what they can do about it," he said.
Sizer speculates Fox will talk to Huntsman about an amnesty proposal.
He said members of UFIRE may join the Minutemen in their demonstrations.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
