PROVIDENCE — Talk-radio host Helen Glover said she couldn’t hold back on the topic of illegal immigration as she took the microphone — not at her WHJJ studio — but at a House Labor Committee hearing last night.

Glover, one of dozens of speakers, said she favored a bill to curb illegal immigration by requiring employers to electronically verify the citizenship status of all new hires over the Internet. She noted that most of the callers to the Helen Glover Show “are begging their elected officials to do something” on the issue.

“The federal government is dropping the ball here,” said Glover, who noted that she was speaking “as a citizen” whose son just returned home from Iraq, and whose father served in three wars.

“We are a land of laws and I am angered that we even have to go through this … At a time when there is a state budget deficit, we need to make sure there is employment for the people who are legally here.”

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jon Brien, D-Woonsocket, would mandate employers in Rhode Island to use what is informally known as the “Basic Pilot Program,” which allows them to determine through a government Internet database whether a new employee is authorized to work in the United States.

Brien’s bill is one of about two-dozen measures introduced so far in this General Assembly session that deal with both sides of the illegal-immigration issue.

So many people crowded the hallway outside Hearing Room 201 that the hearing was moved across the hallway into the House lounge. Impassioned speeches on both sides frequently referred to an immigration raid on a New Bedford factory last week.

Brien said he is trying to reflect his constituents’ wishes to do something about illegal immigration “because the federal government is failing us.”

“I’m not a racist; I’m not a xenophobe,” said Brien. “I’m merely taking the wishes of the people of my district and trying to carry them forward.”

Brien said the Basic Pilot Program “is easy. It’s free — it doesn’t cost anything. It requires an Internet connection.” He said the verification cannot be used retroactively, and cannot be used during the hiring process to screen employees.

“Its goal is to ensure the work force is a legal work force, going forward. That’s it,” said Brien. “The point of the bill is that if you’re going to come to work in the state of Rhode Island, you must do so legally.”

Amy Vitale, program coordinator for the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the ACLU “strongly opposes this bill,” in part because of the reported inaccuracy of the government database upon which the program depends.

Those inaccuracies include out-of-date information on immigration status, such as name changes through marriage or spelling issues, Vitale said.

Rep. Joseph S. Almeida, D-Providence, said he feels that the bill, and others introduced this session on the illegal-immigration issue, “are anti-immigration bills” aimed at all immigrants, whether legal or illegal.

Interrupting Almeida, committee chair Rep. Arthur J. Corvese, D-North Providence, said, “It is anti-illegal legislation.”

Almeida referred to last week’s raid at the Michael Bianco Inc. plant, in which more than 300 people were detained for being in the country illegally, as “nothing more than a show of strength” by the federal government.

While the United States supposedly welcomes the tired and the poor, “now we’re sending them all back. Where is the compassion?” Almeida asked.

Rep. Grace Diaz, D-Providence, expressed her opposition, arguing that the mandate would place a financial burden on the small businesses she represents in the Washington Park and South Side areas.

“If you go to the barbershops on Broad Street, you will find out they don’t have a computer,” said Diaz, and might not be readily able to afford hooking into the system.

“It’s already federal law to require employers to check employees. It’s not necessary for the State of Rhode Island to implement this program,” said Diaz.

Sen. Harold M. Metts, D-Providence, argued against the bill, saying that “anti-illegal” has come to mean “anti-immigration, period.”

Metts said that when he received hate-filled e-mails last year on the subject of illegal immigrants, “I wrote that last time I checked, we are all made in God’s image.” He added, “I hope we can find a compromise” on the bill.

Terry Gorman, executive director of Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement, presented a petition in favor of the bill that he said had been signed by 75 people.

“Illegal aliens are having a tremendous negative effect on our state’s economy,” said Gorman. He claimed that 40,000 Guatemalans and 26,000 Dominicans are living in the state illegally, “most of whom are employed” and creating a drain on the system.

Russell Shabo, also a RIILE member, said, “I served 23 years in the U.S. military defending our borders. Now, the country is under attack within our borders, by illegal aliens.” He said the Basic Pilot Program “would be one small step” toward curbing illegal immigration.

On occasion, committee Chairman Corvese asked someone to tone down their speech. That included Charles Picerno.

“I don’t want them here. I don’t need their business,” said Picerno of illegal immigrants. “I don’t want them to make babies here in this country …basically my freedom is being taken away drop by drop.”

Mary Riccio was not among the 40 people who registered to speak. But as she waited for the hearing to start, Riccio said, “I’m tired of working my fanny off, and they’re coming in and getting everything for free.”

Sen. Juan Pichardo, D-Providence, called the bill on the Basic Pilot Program “part of a package of legislation that I believe is very divisive in our state and our community … people are getting angry to the point where they get to use the words ‘hate’ and ‘racist.’ ”

The issue of immigration is very complex, he said, and rather than seeking state mandates, “I ask you to press for federal legislation, because that is where this belongs.”

kziner@projo.com