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May 19, 2008 10:54 pm US/Central
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Speech By Minuteman Co-Founder Sparks Protest
Conservative Anti-Illegal Immigration Activist Brought To DePaul Campus By Student Group
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
An immigration showdown played out Monday on the DePaul University campus.
Supporters of immigration reform camped out overnight ahead of a speech from the co-founder of a group that opposes illegal immigration.
The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps says it uses only legal methods to help authorities secure our borders. But critics compare it to a militia and say it promotes hate.
A few dozen protestors started gathering outside the Sullivan Athletic Center around 5:30 Monday night. By 7 p.m., hundreds of people gathered outside to protest the group's president and co-founder, Chris Simcox's, scheduled speech.
He was invited by the DePaul Conservative Alliance and is expected to address a crowd of about 200.
But dozens of protestors say Simcox and his thoughts on immigration are not welcome at DePaul.
Just a couple of blocks away at St. Vincent DePaul Roman Catholic Church about three dozen people gathered for a day-long prayer vigil.
They say they are praying for Simcox and other members of the Minuteman organization.
Protestors gathered in the middle of the night at a church in the Little Village neighborhood and walked nearly 12 miles to St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church.
Many of the activists say the Minuteman organization represents racism, hate and intolerance, but the organizers of Monday night's event at DePaul say that is not the case.
They say Simcox and his organization represent a valid side of the immigration argument which is often silenced on college campuses including their own.
"We wanted to make sure the university would remain a marketplace of ideas where alternative ideas are presented on campus so we decided to invite the conservative opinion on the issue of legal immigration," said Nicholas Hahn, president of the Conservative Alliance.
But human rights activists say the ideas of Simcox and the Minuteman group have no place on a college campus like DePaul.
"This, as a Catholic institution, should've not allowed him to come here and bring in a speech of hate," said activist Julie Santos. "They talked about free speech, but a hate speech is not free speech."
"They say that it's free speech by having him come here, but they don't want us in the event, and they don't want to debate us, and they don't want to have an open dialogue," said DePaul freshman Kathleen Dulkoski. "Free speech is not hate speech."
Enrique Morones, founder of the group Border Angels, said, "It's so wrong for DePaul University to allow somebody that promotes and practices hate and gets people fired up to go out there and commit violent acts, to speak at the school."
DePaul junior Ryan Levitt said, "I don't want racist hate speech on my campus it's not going to contribute to intellectual conversation on this debate."
Student Maggie Block said, "Even if we weren't at a Vincentian school, people would be outraged that someone who is so hateful is going to come and be paid by school funds to speak in our environment."
Many protestors say their objections to Simcox's speech are rooted in the work his organization does along the U.S.-Mexico border. They accuse the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps of using militia-style tactics to secure U.S. borders.
In an unusual move, the university asked the sponsoring student group to pay a $2,500 security fee to cover the cost of additional security to handle the protesters.
CBS 2's Joanie Lum and Mai Martinez contributed to this report.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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