By Associated Press
Montgomery, AL – Organizations that track hate groups and officials of the groups themselves say fears over illegal immigration are fueling a resurgence in membership to the Ku Klux Klan. The imperial wizard of the Mount Holly, North Carolina-based chapter of the Klan says membership is growing faster in Gaston County than he's seen since joining in the 1960s. Virgil Griffin says while the Klan isn't as strong now as it was in the 1960s, he's hoping the group will get there. The Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center says that from 2000 to 2005, the number of hate groups grew 33 percent in the United States while Klan chapters grew by 63 percent. Mark Potok, director of the S-P-L-C's Intelligence Project, said there are as many as 803 white supremacist groups and 150 Klan chapters nationwide.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)