Feds Pay Undocumented Prisoners $1/day for Work
"If you were to stop on a street corner anywhere in America and knowingly hire an illegal immigrant to do your laundry or clean your basement, you would be breaking the law.
But for years, the federal government has been paying immigration detainees $1 a day to perform menial work in the nation’s public and private detention centers.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials insist there is no double standard, saying the Voluntary Work Program offers detainees a break from the monotony of incarceration and a chance to earn money while they are locked up.
Rutgers University criminal justice professor Michael Welch called the program a “paradox.”
“It’s ironic that these undocumented immigrants are barred from working legally in the community, but while behind bars, they are not only allowed but encouraged to work for a dollar a day,” Welch said."
SUSAN CARROLL in the Houston Chronicle.