Ever since passing what its legislature touted as the toughest anti-illegal immigrant laws in the nation 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 following passage of legislation that required state identification to obtain government services and allowed police to check suspects' immigration status.

"The reason this (program) started is to make sure the agricultural industry wouldn't go out of business," state Rep. Dorothy Butcher said. Her district includes the city of Pueblo, near the farmland where the convicts will work.

Inmates 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 paid for by the farms. The precise cost is subject to negotiations, but farmers say they expect to pay more for the inmate labor and associated costs than for their traditional workers.

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 immigrants' 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."

Farmers said they weren't happy with the solution either, 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," said Joe Pisciotta. He says he needs to be sure he'll have enough workers come harvest time this fall before he plants watermelons, onions and pumpkins on his 700-acre farm in Avendale, Colo. 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 highlights what he views as the absurdity of Colorado's position - dependent on immigrant labor but trying to chase migrants out of the state. Those leaving are not just people who entered illegally, he said. "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.

Ever since the Democratic-controlled Colorado legislature took a tough turn on immigration, the requirements have worried those who are in the country both legally and illegally.

Advocates complain that some sheriffs have authorized deputies to pull over Hispanic drivers on alleged speeding violations and ask them whether they're in the country legally.

And more stringent requirements implemented last year made it harder to obtain a Colorado driver's license. Numerous Americans, including the daughter of a state legislator, were refused licenses due to lack of proper proof of citizenship. A judge since has ruled that the requirements must be revised.

Though social service agencies say they've discovered few illegals on the dole since the law was passed, immigrant and business groups agree that the heated rhetoric has led to an exodus of Hispanics from Colorado - though no one is sure how many. Businesses including car washes and construction companies have complained of a worker shortage.

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