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Two activist groups hosted a public forum last week with hopes of making illegal immigration a prominent issue for voters in this fall's elections.

"We want our elected officials to understand," said moderator Sandra Pruitt, leader of watchdog group People for Change. "A lot of them haven't come out to hear from residents on this issue ... the huge impact it's had."

The forum was held Feb. 25 in Glenarden and sponsored by local groups People For Change and Help Save Maryland, who said illegal immigrants are draining government resources, crowding school classrooms and bringing down the Prince George‘s County economy.

The five panelists at the forum included Paulette Faulkner of Laurel, a candidate running for the county's Democratic Central Committee; Brad Botwin, the head of Help Save Maryland; and Leo Alexander, a Democratic candidate for mayor in Washington, D.C., who is running on an anti-illegal immigration platform.

The panel also included Roy Beck of NumbersUSA, a Washington, D.C., group that advocates reducing all immigration to the country, and Monique Miles, a lawyer for the Immigration Reform Law Institute based in Washington, D.C.

"They cross our borders and create a tidal wave on our system," Faulkner said. "These women come here pregnant or shortly after they come here, they get pregnant. They know if a child is born here, they are U.S. citizens and are entitled to benefits."

Several attendees accused organizers and residents who spoke at the forum of racism.

"This is more like a Klan rally," said College Park resident Karyn Pomerantz, who was booed by the crowd and had her microphone cut off while she was addressing the panel.

"I'd respect people like you a lot more if you'd follow [the illegal immigrants] back to their countries," Alexander replied.

According to panelists, illegal immigrants contribute to extra government costs and overall poverty by working jobs for less than minimum wage and using government services. Several panelists said illegal immigrants must be deported and that local governments need to start using e-verify, a national database, to check that a company's workers are legal before they are contracted for government work.

"One of the first things I plan to do is sign e-verify into law," Alexander told the cheering crowd, saying that illegal immigration has cost Washington, D.C., residents "a loss of dignity and pride and self-respect" by taking jobs from residents.

Using national estimates from the Federation of American Immigration Reform, Botwin said Prince George's County spends about $209 million annually on illegal immigrants based on its population of 800,000 people.

"There's your budget deficit. Poof. Gone. If you got rid of illegal immigration," Botwin said.

The two-hour meeting brought a group of about 60 people, including candidates for county executive and County Council, who said they attended to hear the concerns raised.

"We need to be cognizant [of the issue]," said Henry Turner of Bowie, one of six candidates running for county executive.

County Council candidates Juanita Miller and Jerry Mathis also attended, and received applause from the room.

Candidates said they were undecided on the issues raised when asked.

"I've got to be careful," said Mathis, a Fort Washington resident running for the District 8 seat. "I'm curious as to what this is about. I have no thoughts whatsoever on immigration."

Turner also said he was there as an observer.

"This is an important issue," he said. "I want to find out from county residents. I need to listen and learn."

Turner's campaign Web site calls for having county contractors check their work force using the e-verify database run through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

"As taxpaying citizens, it's up to us to make sure that everybody is getting value out of the taxes we are paying," he said. "[E-verify] is a start."