Prisoners used to replace migrant workers

By Heraclitus

Check out this article in The L.A. Times about plans in Colorado to use prisoners as farmhands, after "tough" laws against illegal immigration left the state's farmers without anyone to harvest their crops.

Ever since passing what its Legislature promoted as the nation's toughest laws against illegal immigration last summer, Colorado has struggled with a labor shortage as migrants fled the state. This week, officials announced a novel solution: Use convicts as farmworkers.

The Department of Corrections hopes to launch a pilot program this month — thought to be the first of its kind — that would contract with more than a dozen farms to provide inmates who will pick melons, onions and peppers.

Crops were left to spoil in the fields after the passage of legislation that required state identification to get government services and allowed police to check suspects' immigration status.

Are those who complain about the ill effects of illegal immigrants on our economic well-being, what with all the free health care in this country and all, lying, hypocritical racists? Could they be? Could this handy, symbolically-rich little vignette illustrate that?

Prisoners who are a low security risk may choose to work in the fields, earning 60 cents a day. They also are eligible for small bonuses.

The inmates will be watched by prison guards, who will be paid by the farms. The cost is subject to negotiation, but farmers say they expect to pay more for the inmate labor and its associated costs than for their traditional workers.

Whoa, sixty cents a day! That's not exploitative at all (ACLU lawsuit in 3...2...1...). Oh, but it's still going to cost the farmers more than hiring "illegals" (which is about the best thing you can call someone when the law looks like this). That right there might tell you all you need to know about the condition of migrant workers in this country. Of course, the main expense is going to be paying the guards. Good sadists are expensive. Don't take my word for it; just check the back pages of your local free weekly.

Advocates on both sides of the immigration debate said they were stunned by the proposal.

"If they can't get slaves from Mexico, they want them from the jails," said Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, which favors restrictions on immigration.

Ricardo Martinez of the Denver immigrant rights group Padres Unidos asked: "Are we going to pull in inmates to work in the service industry too? You won't have enough inmates — unless you start importing them from Texas."

Hmmm...you know it's bad when the guy cast as the anti-illegal immigration fellow is saying migrants workers are treated like "slaves." Meanwhile, there won't be enough inmates -- unless you start importing them from the heart of wingnuttia, Texas.

Farmers said they weren't happy with the solution, but their livelihoods are on the verge of collapse.

"This prison labor is not a cure for the immigration problem; it's just a Band-Aid," farmer Joe Pisciotta said.

Alright, I don't know what this "Pisciotta" bullshit is. It might be Italian, but I don't like the looks of all those vowels.

He said he needed to be sure he would have enough workers for the harvest this fall before he planted watermelons, onions and pumpkins on his 700-acre farm in Avondale. But he's not thrilled with the idea of criminals working his fields.

"I've got young kids," he said. "It's something I've got to think about."

Pisciotta said he hoped the program highlighted what he viewed as the absurdity of Colorado's position — dependent on immigrant labor but trying to chase migrants away. He said the people leaving were not just those who entered the country illegally.

"Some of them have said, 'We think our paperwork is in order, but how about if it's not and we get caught on a glitch,' " he said.

Okay, that does it. Ship his ass off to Gitmo.

Social service agencies say they have discovered few illegal immigrants on public assistance since the laws were passed.

Gee, I wonder if that could be because they've all left the state. But, whatever the reason, the important thing is that migrant workers are no longer taking advantage of the vast system of social welfare programs we have here in the United States. And all it took was bringing the state's agricultural industry to the brink of total ruin.

In California, where growers also have complained about a lack of workers, inmates have not labored in private fields since the 1940s. Prisoners then were used as farmhands while laborers were fighting in World War II, said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections.

"The idea [of using prisoners on farms] has been floated before, but these are not unskilled jobs. They're jobs that require a lot of training and supervision," said David Kranz, a spokesman for the California Farm Bureau Federation. "It doesn't seem like a very practical alternative."

Wait...I don't...understand...migrant workers...?..."illegal aliens"...doing skilled labor? That...that can't be. Cannot...compute. Must...go...watch...Lou Dobbs.

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