LOS ANGELES, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- A Los Angeles TV station has a hit game show that offers winners legal help in acquiring green cards.
Using stunts suggestive of those on NBC's "Fear Factor," the weekly series "Gana la Verde (Win the Green)" attracts an estimated 1 million viewers, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Contestants eat tequila worms, catch a pig slathered in butter or jump from a speeding 18-wheeler to snag small flags planted in the ground.
Winners are not guaranteed to get legal documentation. They're provided with legal representation to accelerate the process.
Production manager Adrian Vallarino told the paper the show is unlike "Fear Factor" because the outcome for winners is legal employment.
"That's the ultimate test, because we want to expose people to some of the realities of being in the workforce here," said Vallarino.
Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said it seemed exploitative.
"You're getting people to submit to unpleasant things, holding out hope that you'll be able to change their legal status in this country, when some people are just not able to adjust their status because this is all dependent on laws," she said.
