Illegal immigration forum protested

By Timothy Pratt

Wednesday, May 25, 2005 | 9:47 a.m.

A national summit about illegal immigration scheduled for this weekend at Cashman Center has aroused the rage of a coalition of Hispanic groups, who are calling organizers of the event "Nazi white supremacist(s)."

The event, organized by the Wake Up America foundation, is called "Unite to Fight Against Illegal Immigration" and features Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., one of the most vocal members of Congress against illegal immigration.

The coalition, calling itself "United Immigrants," has scheduled a protest for Saturday morning outside the event -- but had originally planned to protest outside the Plaza hotel, based on false information it obtained saying the event would be held there.

The false information led to a flurry of conversations in recent days between United Immigrants and hotel officials, culminating in a press release from Plaza owner Barrick Gaming issued Tuesday, saying the hotel was not the site of the event and that the hotel and the company "do not support or endorse views held by Wake Up America or associated organizations."

The hotel is the site, however, of radio station KDWN 720-AM, which broadcasts a talk show against illegal immigration hosted by Mark Edwards, Wake Up America president. Or it will be the site, until the station's contract expires in early 2006, at which point the hotel has decided not to renew the arrangement, said Stephanie Wilson, director of marketing for Barrick Gaming.

Meanwhile, Edwards says the controversy surrounding his group and the summit has "increased our ticket sales." He said he hopes the event will draw up to 1,000 participants.

The series of events illustrates the polarizing nature of illegal immigration and how Las Vegas is increasingly a setting of community debate about the issue.

In recent months, the Las Vegas Valley has also seen protests against a billboard that said "stop immigration" and a series of public meetings about how to control day laborers, many of whom are illegal immigrants.

As for the confusion about the Plaza being the site of the event, Edwards said the hotel "penciled in" the summit earlier this year, but then contacted him sometime in late March or early April to tell him that he had not paid a deposit required to reserve the space and so another event had been scheduled in its place.

He set about seeking another site and found Cashman Center.

In a meeting Tuesday with members of United Immigrants at the Plaza, James Campos, a consultant for Barrick Gaming in charge of Hispanic outreach, said that a group of community members -- not United Immigrants -- had met with hotel staff prior to the decision not to hold the event at the hotel.

The group expressed concerns about the summit, Campos said.

"We're not a company that supports alleged racist groups. There was a concern on our end."

But Stephanie Wilson, director of marketing for Barrick Gaming, said the decision not to hold the event at the hotel "had nothing to do" with the event itself. She said the issue on the hotel's end was the deposit.

She also said the decision not to renew the radio station's contract was "totally unrelated to its controversial content."

Instead, she said, that decision was based on seeing the station's programming as being "in direct conflict with what we're trying to do" with the Plaza, which is attract younger customers. Also, she said, the station's studio takes up "valuable space" at the hotel.

Wilson also mentioned her company's having launched a "Hispanic initiative" since taking over the Plaza in March 2004, which includes reaching out to Hispanic customers and future plans to build a Hispanic-themed hotel.

Edwards said "We feel that the hotel felt pressure."

Regardless of the hotel's motivation, the decision to not hold the event didn't become known to United Immigrants until after it had issued its own press release Monday saying it would protest outside the hotel Saturday.

Somehow the coalition's members had gotten ahold of a press release Edwards had issued in March announcing the event at the Plaza, before the hotel had reached its decision.

At Tuesday's meeting with Campos at the Plaza, Alan Torres, member of the coalition, said "Now that we have clear it's not here we won't be holding a protest here."

Campos said he was "happy and delighted" at the news.

The coalition will protest outside Cashman Center, however, against the event, which he called "Nazi" and "racist" because its participants "want to marginalize us and push out our communities."

Edwards said his event will focus on the problems illegal immigration is causing many communities nationwide, which he said range from bringing new diseases into the country to driving up the costs of public services.

"I care not who you are or what your race is, as long as you come here legally."