By DAVE PORTER, Associated Press Writer
 

Hundreds of protesters and counter-protesters assembled in this small Philadelphia suburb Sunday in response to the community's new attempt to crack down on illegal immigration.

About 200 protesters argued against a township ordinance adopted last month that bans the hiring and housing of people who cannot verify they are legal residents. A larger group massed across the street to support the new law.

People on both sides of the street waved American flags, but traded hostile remarks.

"This can only lead to more separation, more hostility, more hatred, more anger," Marlene Lao-Collins, associate director of the New Jersey Catholic Conference, told protesters. "As we have seen, this ordinance has already created hostility toward all immigrants, whether they are illegal or not."

Several cars drove past waving Confederate flags and shouting, "Go home!" while one person held up a sign that read, "We Are Home."

The ordinance punishes landlords and employers who house or hire illegal immigrants. Local officials estimate that as many as 3,500 illegal immigrants, many from Brazil, live in the town.

The ordinance is similar to one passed in July in Hazleton, Pa., and comes as other towns across the nation are considering such measures.

Both the Riverside and Hazleton ordinances have been challenged in federal court.