For Phil Jones of Herndon, Virginia, the backlash against illegal immigration began last year when he took his teenage daughter to a convenience store near his home.
He says his car was mobbed by illegal immigrants looking for work as day laborers. He says they completely surrounded him and tried to climb into his car, and that when he indicated he was not hiring, they made obscene gestures at his daughter.
So when Jones heard that his town council in Herndon was going to establish a permanent hiring center for immigrants, including illegal immigrants, he began organizing opposition. And it worked.
On Tuesday, just one day after nationwide rallies against stricter immigration laws, Herndon voters tossed out the officials who supported the hiring center.
Across the nation, grassroots groups favoring stronger immigration controls and enforcement say they are benefiting from a backlash against illegal immigration after the pro-immigrant rallies earlier this week.
They say e-mails, phone calls, and even donations are on the rise, as legal American residents react to the demands that illegal immigrants be given amnesty and allowed to become citizens.
Since Jones began his campaign for tougher immigration policies, he says, his home has been egged and a pro-immigrant Web site posted his picture online, calling him a racist.
But Jones is not giving up the fight. He is convinced the immigrant rallies this week made many more Americans aware of what he sees as growing militancy among people who don't even have a right to be here.
He thinks the backlash has just begun. What do you think?
