Protesters Put Border Lights on the Shelf : Immigration: Organizers of the movement say they will give officials a chance to make good on recent vows to deal with the problem of illegal crossing.

The San Diego-based Light Up the Border movement, sponsor of huge monthly protests that have focused international attention on illegal immigration, will cease its highly publicized monthly gatherings pending the results of initiatives planned by authorities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The movement’s founder, Muriel Watson, widow of a longtime U.S. Border Patrol pilot, said Friday that she and others decided to suspend the actions because officials in the United States and Mexico have promised to take action to control the vast, unregulated flow of people.

“Success has put me out of business,” said Watson, a former spokeswoman for the union representing the Border Patrol, an armed enforcement branch of the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service.

In addition, a group statement said, the decision was related to a desire to reduce the possibility of a confrontation, which appeared to be an increasingly likely prospect, particularly given the polarization at the most recent protest sessions, which featured name-calling volleys by supporters and opponents of the demonstrations.

The lighting effort began last November, when activists in about 2 dozen vehicles drove to the border and pointed their illuminated headlights toward the south in a symbolic gesture of disapproval. The simple action seemed to touch a nerve and soon blossomed into a large-scale movement involving more than 1,000 people in about 300 vehicles, who recently were confronted by equally vociferous counter-protesters attempting to reflect the lights back.

The monthly spectacle galvanized rising concerns about the rampant illegal immigration in the border area, particularly in San Diego, the most concentrated crossing zone along the almost 2,000-mile-long boundary.

Critics assailed the movement as a racist manifestation of growing resentment among Southern Californians, mostly those of European ancestry, toward newer immigrants from Latin America and elsewhere.

But Watson and other supporters of the effort said the protests were intended only to pressure authorities to take steps to restore some semblance of order to an anarchic border.

The raw feelings evident during the recent protests--racial epithets emanated from both sides--underline the national debate surrounding illegal immigration.

At one extreme are those who generally view unauthorized immigrants as undesirable criminals who take jobs from citizens, live on public assistance and spread disease, illicit drugs and otherwise harm society. Others see the illicit crossers as an exploited minority whose hard work and entrepreneurial drive have helped fuel California’s robust economy and subsidize the prosperity of U.S. citizens.

Even among those who deplored what they called the movement’s hidden racist agenda, there were some who acknowledged that the protests had at least made both sides think about a topic that had hitherto been the target of much vitriol but little analysis.

“A lot of negative feelings came out of it, but I think the whole idea of the two sides coming together to start up a dialogue was a good thing,” said Aida Mancillas, a writing instructor at UC San Diego who was among the counter-protesters.

In the past week, several actions have buoyed the pro-enforcement contingent.

U.S. immigration authorities and San Diego police have vowed to post more officers along the border, which has been the site of rising crime against the thousands of illicit crossers who enter San Diego each day. U.S. officials have also posted more floodlights at dangerous crossing sites, while Mexican officials have said they will cooperate in anti-crime efforts.

Nonetheless, Watson said she and her allies will continue to lobby for their primary goal--increased enforcement along the border--by writing letters to lawmakers and speaking out publicly about the pressing need to reduce illegal immigration.

“The problem is far from solved,” she said. “Light Up has accomplished its mission, which was to make those government agencies look at the border and start handling it. Now we’ll give them a chance.”

However, Watson did not rule out the possibility of future protests should the official action fail to stem the tide of illegal immigration.

“I have no doubt that the movement will survive,” said Watson, a native of Boston who is a second-generation Italian-American. “The organization is still together.”