Turnout small for illegal immigration protest
Published: Wed, Jun. 18, 2008 08:35AM
Modified Wed, Jun. 18, 2008 01:37PM
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closeRALEIGH -- A few dozen people turned out for a rally this morning to protest illegal immigration.
Organizers said the event was intended to pressure legislators to pass restrictive laws that will encourage illegal immigrants to leave the state.
"We need North Carolina lawmakers to take emergency legislative action," said William Gheen, founder of the political action committee Americans for Legal Immigration. "The word is out from Canada to Argentina that North Carolina is the place to come to."
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Gheen brought a host of speakers, including Republican state lawmakers and activists from as far away as Arizona. But they spoke to a crowd of only about a dozen supporters.
"Every one represents a thousand that didn't make it," said Marion Larabee, a retired construction engineer from New Bern. He held a sign proclaiming, "Illegal aliens go back to your homeland."
kristin.collins@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-4881
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