A Massachusetts sheriff who has long railed against undocumented immigrants, proposed making inmates serving time in his jail help build the wall between the U.S. and Mexico proposed by President-elect Donald Trump.
In his annual address to the media, Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson officially endorsed the proposed wall and said he would be willing to provide labor for it, reports the Herald News.
According to the sheriff, building the wall that would presumably keep undocumented workers out which would in turn provide more job opportunities for inmates after they're released.
"I can think of no other project that would have such a positive impact on our inmates and our country than building this wall," Hodgson read from a prepared statement. "Aside from learning and perfecting construction skills, the symbolism of these inmates building a wall to prevent crime in communities around the country, and to preserve jobs and work opportunities for them and other Americans upon release, can be very powerful."
Hodgson's offer of free labor is part of a new program he proposed calls Project N.I.C.E." for National Inmates' Community Endeavors.
According to the sheriff, he is calling upon other law enforcement officials across the country to provide inmates to work on civic projects.
"Project N.I.C.E. takes the successful inmate work program that has inmates from the Dartmouth jail doing community service around the area and expands it nationally with the cooperation of Sheriff's Offices across the country, who would also send inmate workers" Hodgson's official press release stated.
Hodgson, who has called sanctuary cities "very, very dangerous," also stated his willingness to cooperate fully with I.C.E.'s immigration enforcement program -- a proposal that some other lawman have opposed.
