The nation’s largest Latino civil rights group Thursday announced plans to relocate its convention next year to Chicago after a controversy in Kansas City. The move shows a new willingness by the National Council of La Raza to flex its economic muscle on behalf of undocumented immigrants.

La Raza has held its annual convention in Chicago three times before, most recently in 1997.

MURGUIA: It has been a city that has tried to be sensitive to the immigrant community.

The group’s president is Janet Murguía.

MURGUIA: I think they also appreciate the economic benefits that we bring.

The convention draws as many as 20,000 participants and brings millions of dollars into the host city’s economy. La Raza had planned to hold the event in Kansas City, Missouri. But the group pulled out last fall after that city’s mayor appointed a Minuteman Civil Defense Corps member to help govern the city’s park system. The Minutemen are known for patrolling the Mexican border to help authorities catch undocumented immigrants. And Minutemen blast groups like La Raza for proposing a path to citizenship for the undocumented population. Chicago Minuteman Rick Jones would rather La Raza stay out of his city.

JONES: They refuse to go to Kansas City because of someone on some board whose viewpoints they don’t approve of. This organization is probably one of the least tolerant organizations you’ll ever find. And if they come here I think it’s quite likely that we would set up some kind of a protest.

La Raza’s convention is set for McCormick Place in July 2009.