LMB-2 Immunotoxin and Vaccine Therapy in Treating Patients With Metastatic Melanoma That Cannot Be Removed By Surgery

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: * Diagnosis of metastatic melanoma * Unresectable disease * Progressive disease while receiving standard therapy (e.g., interleukin-2 or dacarbazine) * HLA-A0201 positive * Measurable disease * The following are not allowed: * Resectable local/regional disease * Patients whose serum neutralizes LMB-2 in tissue culture, due either to antitoxin or antimouse-immunoglobulin G antibodies (\> 75% of the activity of 1 ug/mL of LMB-2) * Received LMB-2 on another trial PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: * ECOG performance status 0-2 * Life expectancy more than 3 months * WBC ≥ 3,000/mm\^3 * Absolute lymphocyte count \> 500/mm\^3 * Platelet count ≥ 90,000/mm\^3 * Bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL (≤ 3.0 mg/dL for patients with Gilbert's syndrome) * AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 times normal * Albumin ≥ 3.0 g/dL * No hepatitis B surface antigen or hepatitis C positivity * Creatinine ≤ 1.4 mg/dL * Not pregnant or nursing * Negative pregnancy test * Fertile patients must use effective contraception * No ongoing or active infection * Ejection fraction ≥ 45% by echocardiogram or thallium stress test (for patients \> 50 years of age OR who have a history of cardiovascular disease) * LVEF ≥ 45% * No symptomatic congestive heart failure * No unstable angina pectoris * No cardiac arrhythmia * No psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude study compliance * No other uncontrolled illness * No known HIV positivity * No autoimmune disease * No immunodeficiency * No other malignancies * Must be willing to undergo leukapheresis PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: * See Disease Characteristics * More than 12 weeks since prior monoclonal antibody therapy * More than 3 weeks since prior and no concurrent systemic therapy for cancer * No concurrent chronic anticoagulant therapy * No concurrent systemic steroid therapy