Some Central Florida GOP candidates for Congress are calling for limits on legal immigration as part of their “America First” platform, moving their focus beyond the Southern border to programs that allow high-skilled and other workers to come to the United States.

Laura Loomer, a far-right conservative activist challenging a longtime Republican congressman, is proposing a 10-year halt on immigration to the United States as the nation deports millions of illegal immigrants.

“We keep on outsourcing jobs and outsourcing educational opportunities who are then working at a much cheaper rate than American citizens,” Loomer said.

Two leading candidates in the 7th Congressional District, state Rep. Anthony Sabatini and Army combat veteran Cory Mills, also are campaigning on immigration moratoriums.

Such a policy would be a disaster for Florida, which heavily relies on immigrants to power its agriculture and tourism-dependent economy, said David Metellus, director of policy and politics for the Florida Immigrant Coalition.

“It’s just something to rile up the base,” he said. “They’re just being a provocateur, but they’re very ignorant about what they are actually proposing.”

The list of Florida companies using immigrant labor includes former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, which is looking to hire 91 temporary foreign workers for the upcoming winter season. The Palm Beach estate is seeking cooks, servers and housekeepers with wages starting at $11.96 an hour, filings with the U.S. Department of Labor show.

Immigration benefits Florida’s economy, Metellus said, referencing research that shows immigrant-owned businesses generate billions of dollars of revenue and employ many Floridians.

More than 40,000 migrant workers come to Florida on agricultural visas to pick strawberries, tomatoes, citrus and other crops, filling jobs most Americans wouldn’t do.

Politically, anti-immigrant rhetoric risks alienating Cuban Americans and Venezuelan Americans, two important voting blocs for Republicans in Florida, Metellus said.

Efforts to limit legal immigration haven’t gained traction in the Congress, but the idea is sparking debate among Republicans. U.S. Reps. Paul Gosar of Arizona and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia have both filed legislation to impose an immigration moratorium.

Loomer’s opponent, incumbent GOP U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster, isn’t calling for a freeze on legal immigration, instead highlighting legislation he’s sponsored aimed at stopping illegal immigration.

He said Loomer’s calls for a mass deportation of millions of people living in the country illegally unrealistic.

In the District 7 race, Sabatini said he wants to cut in half legal immigration from about 1 million people a year to 500,000 and then move to a full-scale immigration moratorium.

“We need to take care of our own people and get our own people trained up to take the jobs that are being created here,” Sabatini said.

In January, Sabatini falsely tweeted that “hundreds of illegals were just SHIPPED into my congressional district yesterday— dropped off in Maitland.” Loomer also spread a video with the false information.

Dozens of protesters gathered outside of an extended-stay hotel decrying illegal immigration, even though the migrants were in town on legal visas.

Sabatini clarified in a subsequent tweet the migrants were in the country legally, but he never deleted the initial tweet with the false information.

Mills said he supports a temporary immigration moratorium while the system is reformed, writing in a column “it’s time for America to hit the pause button” on immigration.

About 62% of undocumented immigrants in 2016 initially arrived to the United States legally and overstayed visas, compared with 38% that entered the country without proper paperwork, according to research by the Center for Migration Studies.

Other GOP candidates say Florida’s economy needs legal immigrants, noting some employers are having a hard time finding people to work.

“We’re going through a labor shortage now,” said Ted Edwards, a former Orange County commissioner running for Congress in District 7. “We’re going through a shortage of a lot of skilled professionals, so I would not support a ban on legal immigration to this country.”

Rusty Roberts, another District 7 candidate, also said immigration is important, but it must be “orderly” and under a nation’s laws.

The primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 23.

sswisher@orlandosentinel.com Complete primary election coverage can be found at OrlandoSentinel.com/election.