US migrant fined US$1.8 million

US MIGRANT FINED US$1.8 MILLION: Wendy Ortiz was surprised to find out she was being fined by US immigration authorities for being in the country illegally – but it was the amount that truly shocked her: US$1.8 million. Ortiz, 32, who earns US$13 an hour in her job at a meatpacking plant in Pennsylvania, has lived in the United States for a decade, after fleeing El Salvador to escape a violent ex-partner and gang threats, she said in an interview and in immigration paperwork. Her salary barely covers rent and expenses for her autistic 6-year-old US-citizen son. “It’s not fair,” she said. “Where is someone going to find that much money?” PHOTO: REUTERS