CHICAGO (WBBM Newsradio 780) -- A community forum on immigration ended just about as fast as it began Thursday night in the Logan Square neighborhood when protesters disrupted the event and shouted down the controversial participants.
"No free speech for terrorists!" chanted the demonstrators who crowded inside the Fourth Congregational Church at 2625 N. Tallman Ave., where the event was being held.
WBBM Newsradio 780's Steve Grzanich reports organizers had barely started the introductions when the noisy protest began.
The demonstrators succeeded in stopping what was supposed to be a debate between advocates of immigration rights and a group called the Illinois Minuteman Project which supports stricter enforcement of U-S immigration laws.
"They have to know that their racist ideas are not going to be tolerated," said protestor Maria Melquiades of Chicago. "Racism kills. You don't debate racism," she said.
"All immigrants are welcomed and Minutemen are not," said protestor John Eriksen of Chicago. "Where they are, they need to be shouted down because they are racists and Nazis," he added.
The forum had to be cancelled when police were called in to disperse the protestors. Officers arrested one demonstrator for disorderly conduct.
"This is infantile behavior," said Rosanna Pulido, Illinois Minuteman Project Director. "The faith community should be able to get together and have a civil discussion about a serious topic. This disruption is uncalled for," she said.
Pulido had been scheduled to debate a representative of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights but the group pulled out of the forum because of concerns the event might spark violence.
A statement released by the coalition read: "Our organization has no interest whatsoever in contributing to an event in which people could be hurt and that allows extremists to vent their hatred or that further exacerbates tensions at a time when our nation is interested in solutions. We have always welcomed debate with those with different views than ours, and will continue to do so. But we reject needless provocation that may lead to people being hurt."
"I didn't see any Minutemen act up in that church," said Pulido. "We're homeowners, we're business owners, we're veterans that love this country and believe that there is a problem that has been created because our immigration laws are not being enforced," she said.
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