Sheriff offers to have prison inmates help build Trump's Mexico wall

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Mass. sheriff offers to have prison inmates help build Trump's wall

A Massachusetts sheriff offered President-elect Donald Trump the help of local prison inmates to build the proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
On Wednesday, Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson said he will create an initiative called Project NICE - National Inmates' Community Endeavors - which will allow inmates at Bristol County House of Correction in Dartmouth to volunteer, giving the wall construction as an example, along with clean-up after natural disasters.

"I can think of no other project that would have such a positive impact on our inmates and our country than building this wall," he said at his inauguration ceremony Wednesday, the Washington Examiner reported.

The sheriff, just reelected for a fourth term, has often made his anti-immigration stance clear, the Associated Press reported.

Building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border was one of Trump's biggest proposals on the campaign trail, and one he has stuck by since his election.

Trump has claimed he will convince Mexico to pay for the wall, but has otherwise not detailed how it would be paid for.


Bristol Sheriff offers inmates to build Trump’s Mexico wall

FALL RIVER — Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson has made a personal offer to President-elect Donald Trump: Bristol County inmates will be available to help build Trump’s border wall with Mexico.

Yes, really.

“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, a Republican, said in remarks at his inaugural ceremony Wednesday night at Bristol Community College.

He did not address who would pay to transport, house, and secure local inmates while they labor on the wall project. Trump, however, has said Mexico will pay for the wall.


Bristol County Sheriff Suggests Using Inmates To Build Trump’s Wall

Thomas Hodgson, Bristol County Sheriff, supports Donald Trump’s plan to build a border around Mexico. He made a proposal Wednesday night (Jan. 4), during his swearing-in ceremony, that inmates would benefit from helping this plan come to life.

ABC6 News reports that Hodgson promised that this announcement was no political stunt and solely believed that it was the right thing to do. The sheriff defended his decision by saying it helps with disaster relief and makes “all the sense in the world” to get the free labor. Hodgson stated: “I’m making a formal offer to President Trump, that inmates of Bristol County and others from across the nation through project N.I.C.E will help build the wall. I can think of no better project that would have such a positive impact on our inmates, or our country than building this wall.”

Laura Rotolo, member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), compared Hodgson’s decision to modern day slavery. Rotolo said she was against the proposal because the wall is based on racism. She went on to say to ABC6 News that “if Sheriff Hodgson does go through with this gimmick of his, the ACLU of Massachusetts stands ready to use every tool in our tool kit to fight it, including litigation.”

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