Photo by Kit Bradshaw
State Representative Gayle Harrell, R-Port St. Lucie, drew vocal
support for her bill, HR 821, which would forbid towns or counties
from supporting labor centers where there were illegal aliens.
Harrell spoke at a rally Saturday at El Sol Neighborhood Resource
Center in Jupiter, which serves as a labor center for day laborers.
Photo by Kit Bradshaw
State Rep. Gayle Harrell, talks with supporters of her HR 821
bill that would forbid municipal or county support of centers such
as El Sol in Jupiter, during a rally at the neighborhood center.
From the left are Doug Barnard of Avon Park, Gary French of Avon
Park, Bill Landers of Haines City, and Katie and Ben Tucciarone
of Highlands County. Supporters came from throughout the state
for the event Saturday at noon.
Photo by Kit Bradshaw
Supporters rallied around State Representative Gayle Harrell R-Port
St. Lucie as she announced the introduction of her bill, HR821
which would forbid towns or counties from helping to fund centers
such as El Sol Neighborhood Resource Center, which, among other
things, is a central location for day laborers to find work
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JUPITER — About 200 cheering, stomping and whistling supporters
came out Saturday to support State Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart,
as she rolled out a bill that would forbid towns from helping
illegal immigrants at labor hiring halls.
"You are standing up for America," she told the crowd in the
parking lot of El Sol Neighborhood Resource Center, one such
labor hiring hall.
"We have forces against us, and we need an uprising to get this
bill passed," Harrell said of her House Bill 821. "We must
do everything possible to deal with this problem so that our
legal citizens get jobs and can go to school. With 980,000 illegal
aliens, Florida has the fifth-largest illegal
alien population in the country."
No one from El Sol came to the rally to challenge Harrell. However,
a large group from El Sol stood quietly in prayer at the opposite
end of the parking lot.
"We had a wonderful prayer service, with about 50 people, volunteers
and interested people who showed their support for El Sol," said
Mike Richmond, who heads the El Sol board.
Harrell told the crowd at the northern end of the El Sol parking
lot that the bill, called the "Florida Safe Borders Act," is
awaiting assignment to committee in the Florida House of Representatives.
It would cut county or municipal aid to hiring
halls for illegal immigrants.
It would also require law enforcement officers to report illegal
immigrants arrested or convicted of a felony to the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security. And it would require that state agencies
that provide public benefits verify the citizenship of anyone
over 14 who wants these benefits.
Harrell said that the problem of illegal immigrants isn't just
in Jupiter, but throughout the state. She also said there are
more such labor centers coming on line in the next few months.
In Port Salerno, for example, Iglesia Bautista on Salerno Road
is where immigrants gather looking for day jobs,
and Catholic Charities is helping immigrants throughout the Treasure
Coast. Other labor centers are slated to open this year in Loxahatchee
Gardens in western Palm Beach County and in Miami-Dade County
and Lake Worth, she said.
"Illegal aliens put a terrible burden on our educational system,
hospitals, and law enforcement throughout the state, and we are
in a tight money situation in the state," Harrell said.
Prior to the speech, Harrell said that if the labor centers
in any location were shut down, the illegal immigrants who use
them would return to their native countries.
"People who come to the United States must just do it Legally,
and we must close our borders," she said before
the rally. "That is a major issue. We can have a guest worker
program, but the emphasis must be on guest."
Harrell said she has high hopes this bill and others in the
Florida Legislature will pass. "There is a bill moving through
the Senate as well that is similar, and at the end of the day,
they have to line up. It would then become an omnibus bill and
when passed, would go to the governor."
Harrell has opened her campaign headquarters in Port St. Lucie
as she vies for the Republican nomination for the District 16
congressional seat now held by Tim Mahoney, D-Palm Beach Gardens.
She can't run again for the state seat because of term limits
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