FALLBROOK -- Anti-illegal immigration activists protested again Saturday in front of St. Peter's Catholic Church in Fallbrook and said they planned to present its leaders with a petition demanding they close a day-labor hiring site on the church's property.

About 40 San Diego Minutemen members and supporters participated in the demonstration, which lasted more than two hours along South Stage Coach Lane. Holding American flags and signs that bore messages such as "Hire a Marine, not an illegal," the protesters were watched by a handful of San Diego County sheriff's deputies across the street and several dozen Latino men standing in a covered area that serves as the informal hiring site.

The Minutemen began targeting the church with protests this summer, saying it is breaking the law by allowing the day laborers to gather there. On Saturday, San Diego Minutemen founder Jeff Schwilk showed reporters a petition he said was signed by 289 Fallbrook residents who want the hiring site shut down.

Schwilk said he planned to give the petition to the Rev. Edward "Bud" Kaicher, who is the church's pastor, later that morning.

Kaicher has said that providing the day laborers with a safe place to gather is part of the church's mission. Reached by phone Saturday afternoon, he declined to say whether he had received the petition or make any other comment.