Prisoners to Work Colorado Fields

"Thousands of immigrants and their families have left Colorado in the past year," Julien Ross, coordinator of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, said. Some of those are legal immigrants who do not understand the law and fear they could be deported for just a speeding ticket or other minor offense, Tafoya said.

Phil Prutch, one of the Colorado farmers negotiating with the state to use convict labor on his 250 acres of sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes and melons, said he pays workers all he can afford -- $6.85 an hour, or Colorado's minimum wage. He said he needs workers to fill 10 to 20 jobs this season, and does not expect immigrants to fill them all.

But even he is lukewarm to the idea of replacing immigrant labor with convicts.

"It's not a fix," Prutch said. "The people we hire -- most people don't think much of them, but they're skilled labor. A person who doesn't know what they're doing can ruin you in a day."

Ari Zavarasl, executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections, said inmates are already used to tame wild horses, build furniture and work in a dairy, and should be able to adapt to farm work.

"They will be learning some work skills," Zavaras said. "One could raise the question of, 'How marketable is working in the fields?' But you'd be surprised how many inmates we have who've never held a job. And if we can teach them they have to be up, ready to go for a day's work, that's a step in the right direction."

Immigrant advocates and farmers say agriculture jobs would be filled if Congress passed a guest-worker program, such as the Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits and Security Act. AgJobs, as the bill is known, would allow undocumented farmworkers already in the U.S. to become legal permanent residents.

"The federal government needs to get off their heinies and get something done," Prutch said.