Staff Photo By Robert Miller Salisbury resident Marshall Lowe, left, an immigration critic, shows displeasure for the message of immigrant supporter Mary Settig of Raleigh. Her sign, paraphrased from Spanish, reads, 'Long live Mexico. I love Mexico.'

By NED GLASCOCK, Staff Writer
     SILER CITY -- He said he had come out of a "deep and abiding" love for his country's European heritage.
     Standing on the steps of city hall, with his supporters gathered round, former Klansman David Duke excoriated Mexicans, immigrants and minorities as threats to national unity. 
     Many in Siler City scorned his visit and said they wouldn't dignify it with their presence. But his appearance underscored the tensions over immigration in this traditional small town, which like many in North Carolina has only recently become a magnet for Spanish-speaking immigrants.
     The crowd, estimated at 400 to 500 by police chief Lewis Phillips, applauded Duke's message. But small bands of opponents heckled Duke and other speakers, who were invited to the anti-immigration protest by a local service station worker with ties to a neo-Nazi group, the National Alliance.
     Beneath a fluttering U.S. flag and ringed by a squadron of police officers, protesters gathered, some wearing camouflage, one in a coat bearing the design of the Confederate flag. They held signs to voice their view. "Pollution of our Population is Stupid!" read one. Said another: "To HELL with the Wretched Refuse."
     Counterprotesters, some of whom stood on the steps of the First Baptist Church across the street, brought signs of their own. Said one: "Duke who? Go Heels!"
     Many on both sides of the protest came to Siler City from elsewhere, although some townspeople came to see what the fuss was all about.
     In the days leading up to the protest, Latino leaders and other Duke opponents had encouraged would-be counterprotesters to stay away. On Saturday, only a handful of Latinos turned out.
     "I wanted to show them I'm not scared," said Jesus Perez, a native of Mexico who lives in Liberty, about 20 miles from Siler City.
     In the past decade, Siler City, a Chatham County town of about 6,000, has experienced an unprecedented wave of immigration, mainly from Mexico. By some estimates, the town now is about 40 percent Latino. Many work in the town's two poultry processing plants.
     The growth of Siler City's Latino community mirrors the demographic shift under way in small towns and cities across North Carolina. Over the past decade, the state's Latino population has more than doubled, reaching 350,000 by one estimate.
     Many longtime Siler City residents -- both white and black -- have been caught off guard by the sudden change. Uneasy, some parents, mainly whites, have transferred their children from Siler City Elementary School, which is 41 percent Latino.
     Still, a number of residents said in the days leading up to Saturday's protest that they were offended by Duke's message.
     "I think all the troublemakers should stay home," said Joyce Gibson, who is white. "I don't want anything to do with them. I don't want them in my town."
     Solon Branch, who moved to Siler City from Morrisville three years ago for the quiet country atmosphere, said the protest against Hispanics raises ugly memories for African-Americans in town.
     "The buzz around town among African-Americans," said Branch, who is black, "is that they can't believe this is happening in Siler City."
     On Saturday, law officers barricaded a block of North Second Avenue in Siler City's old-fashioned business district, and they cordoned off City Hall in yellow police tape to separate protesters, onlookers and reporters. Police reported no problems.
     Duke, head of a new group called the National Organization for European American Rights, urged Siler City residents to take a stand against immigration by pressuring elected officials and the poultry plants that employ many Spanish-speaking workers.
     "Siler City is at a crossroads," said Duke, jabbing the index finger of his right hand into the air for emphasis. "Either you get your public officials to get the INS in here and get these illegal immigrants out or you'll lose your homes, you'll lose your schools, you'll lose your way of life.
     "To get a few chickens plucked, is it worth losing your heritage?"
     During his 50-minute speech, Duke criticized minority groups, liberals, gangster rap and the "degeneracy in inner cities in this country." The former Louisiana state legislator lashed out at the news media, which he accused of lying to the people by -- among other things -- characterizing him as leader of a hate group.
     Duke said he is disturbed by demographic projections showing U.S. whites losing their majority status over the course of the next century, and he predicted increasing divisiveness among ethnic groups.
     When whites become a minority, they will lose their right to bear arms and will have their property taken away, Duke said.
     "If you don't do something intelligent and courageous now, you're going to be outnumbered and outvoted in your own country," he said.
     Duke also made a disparaging comment about honoring black civil rights leaders on postage stamps.
     Another speaker, Will Williams of Raleigh, a National Alliance member, told the crowd that immigrants were nothing but trouble.
     "They're bringing their drugs, their crime and all kinds of problems, and they're sending all their money home," he said. "These chicken factories need to go to Mexico."
     Sam van Rensburg, a white native of South Africa who left after the shift to black-majority rule, told the crowd "to stand up for what is just [and] stand up for your race."
     "By God," he said, "your fathers built this country. Do you want to let it slip into the sewer of this immigration?"
     "No," shouted a counterprotester to him, "go home, you damn immigrant!"
     Duke ended his visit by telling his supporters to carry on his fight.
     "Siler City is symbolic of what's happening in America," he said. "Your battle here is America's battle."