This article was sent to me by colleague Paul Moyer, PA. Greetings to all,
Tina
New contact information for me:

Tina Castañares, MD, 3301 Kollas Road, Hood River, OR 97031, 541.
354-1666, tina.castanares@...

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___ Colorado to Use Inmates to Fill Migrant Shortage By Nicholas Riccardi
The Los Angeles Times Thursday 01 March 2007Tough laws passed last year
against illegal immigration have created a needfor farmworkers. Denver - Ever
since passing what its Legislature promoted as thenation's toughest laws against
illegal immigration last summer, Colorado hasstruggled 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 thismonth - thought to be the first of its kind - that would
contract with morethan a dozen farms to provide inmates who will pick melons,
onions andpeppers. Crops were left to spoil in the fields after the passage
of legislationthat required state identification to get government services and
allowedpolice to check suspects' immigration status. "The reason this
[program] started is to make sure the agriculturalindustry wouldn't go out of
business," state Rep. Dorothy Butcher said. Herdistrict includes Pueblo, near
the farmland where the inmates will work. 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 thefarms. The cost is subject to negotiation, but farmers say
they expect topay more for the inmate labor and its associated costs than for
theirtraditional workers. Advocates on both sides of the immigration debate
said they were stunnedby 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 Unidosasked: "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." Farmers said they
weren't happy with the solution, but their livelihoodsare on the verge of
collapse. "This prison labor is not a cure for the immigration problem; it's
justa Band-Aid," farmer Joe Pisciotta said. He said he needed to be sure he
would have enough workers for theharvest this fall before he planted
watermelons, onions and pumpkins on his700-acre farm in Avondale. But he's not
thrilled with the idea of criminalsworking his fields. "I've got young kids,"
he said. "It's something I've got to thinkabout." Pisciotta said he hoped the
program highlighted what he viewed as theabsurdity of Colorado's position -
dependent on immigrant labor but tryingto chase migrants away. He said the
people leaving were not just those whoentered the country illegally. "Some of
them have said, 'We think our paperwork is in order, but howabout if it's not
and we get caught on a glitch,' " he said. Ever since the
Democratic-controlled Legislature took a tough turn onimmigration, the new
requirements have worried those in the country legallyand illegally.
Immigrant advocates allege that some sheriffs have authorized deputiesto pull
over Latino drivers on supposed speeding violations and ask themwhether they are
in the country legally. And more stringent requirements put into effect last
year made it harderto get a driver's license. Numerous U.S. citizens, including
the daughter ofa state legislator, were refused licenses because they lacked
proper proofof citizenship. A judge has since ruled that the requirements must
berevised. Social service agencies say they have discovered few illegal
immigrantson public assistance since the laws were passed. Immigrant and
business groups agree that the heated rhetoric has led toan exodus of Latinos -
though no one is sure how many. Businesses includingcarwashes and construction
firms have complained of a worker shortage. "It's like, 'Don't go visit that
house, there's a guy with a shotgun atthe door,' " said state Rep. Rafael
Gallegos, who represents a heavilyLatino agricultural district in south-central
Colorado. He voted againstmost of the legislation. Farmers on Monday met with
state officials at the Capitol here todiscuss using inmate labor. The Department
of Corrections expects to beginsending about 100 prisoners to work on farms near
Pueblo this month. Some of the state's 22,000 prisoners have agricultural
experience.Convicts can participate in programs on prison grounds to break wild
horsesand grow crops. About 700 inmates work in other jobs outside prison, such
ason fire crews. Ari Zavaras, the executive director of the Department of
Corrections,said he knew of no other prison system in the nation using convicts
to fillagricultural labor shortages. In California, where growers also have
complained about a lack ofworkers, inmates have not labored in private fields
since the 1940s.Prisoners then were used as farmhands while laborers were
fighting in WorldWar II, said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California
Department ofCorrections. "The idea [of using prisoners on farms] has been
floated before, butthese are not unskilled jobs. They're jobs that require a lot
of trainingand supervision," said David Kranz, a spokesman for the California
FarmBureau Federation. "It doesn't seem like a very practical alternative."
Krikorian, of the Center for Immigration Studies, said the Coloradoprison
experiment was "a sign that there are solutions other than importingforeign
labor." He said "ultimately they're going to have to improve the wages
andworking conditions" to attract legal workers, as well as to mechanize partsof
their farming operations. Colorado's experience shows that hard-line measures
have an effect onillegal immigrants, Krikorian added, noting that arrests had
dropped alongthe U.S.-Mexico border since security was increased last year.
"We're seeing enforcement work, not just in Colorado," he said, "but allover the
country."