Cathedral Bible College Sounds like a funky place.
Cathedral Bible College markets itself via the Internet to foreign students and offers degrees in theology, divinity, Christian counseling, Christian ministry and a diploma in Bible studies.
Agents with Homeland Security Investigations filed a criminal complaint against Miller this week saying they have probable cause to charge him with forced labor, a felony that carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years for each count. Investigators say Miller forced foreign students to work at the campus and his personal residence for as little as $25 per week. Miller threatened to cancel the students’ visas if they complained or didn’t comply with his demands, according to an affidavit filed this week.
In addition to the Marion campus, Cathedral Bible College has a site on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base for American and former military students.
A key part of Miller’s bond agreement limits his use of the college’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, an Internet-based system that provides users with access to current information about foreign students. SEVIS enables colleges to transmit electronic information, such as a student’s violation of visa terms, directly to Homeland Security. Such access can be used to terminate a student’s visa. Miller is the only Cathedral Bible College official with access to the SEVIS system and investigators say he used that access to retaliate against foreign students who complained about their working conditions.
One student told investigators he had been promised $100 per week as part of a work-study program with the college. That student said he only makes $50 per week and regularly works between 46 hour and 56 hours each week. The student also said he worked for two weeks without any pay.
Another student told investigators that he was paid $50 per week for about 32 hours of work.
“Dr. Miller told [the student] if he did not like this work, he could go home or he [Miller] would call the Immigration and Naturalization Service,” the affidavit states.
Another student at the college said he earns $50 per week for 40 hours of work.
Miller has had a past run-in with law enforcement. In 2006, the Horry County Police Department charged Miller with lewdness and prostitution after Miller exposed himself to an undercover police officer in a bath house at Myrtle Beach State Park.
FLORENCE: Bond set at $250,000 for Wayne Miller, president of Cathedral Bible College with Myrtle Beach campus | Crime | MyrtleBeachOnline.com
Federal law limits those on student visas to a maximum of 20 hours of work per week and that work must be an integral part of the student’s educational program.
Students also complained about expired food and “long periods of time without any hot water, heat or air conditioning.”
Terry Firma, points out that the Bible condones slavery and exploitation. Thus, in an important sense, the practice of using students as slaves in forced labor camps is perfectly Biblical, and by exploiting students as forced labor, the Cathedral Bible College was only staying true to its Biblical heritage and values.
Slavery in South Carolina: Bible College is forced labor camp for foreign students
Cathedral Bible College markets itself via the Internet to foreign students and offers degrees in theology, divinity, Christian counseling, Christian ministry and a diploma in Bible studies.
Agents with Homeland Security Investigations filed a criminal complaint against Miller this week saying they have probable cause to charge him with forced labor, a felony that carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years for each count. Investigators say Miller forced foreign students to work at the campus and his personal residence for as little as $25 per week. Miller threatened to cancel the students’ visas if they complained or didn’t comply with his demands, according to an affidavit filed this week.
In addition to the Marion campus, Cathedral Bible College has a site on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base for American and former military students.
A key part of Miller’s bond agreement limits his use of the college’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, an Internet-based system that provides users with access to current information about foreign students. SEVIS enables colleges to transmit electronic information, such as a student’s violation of visa terms, directly to Homeland Security. Such access can be used to terminate a student’s visa. Miller is the only Cathedral Bible College official with access to the SEVIS system and investigators say he used that access to retaliate against foreign students who complained about their working conditions.
One student told investigators he had been promised $100 per week as part of a work-study program with the college. That student said he only makes $50 per week and regularly works between 46 hour and 56 hours each week. The student also said he worked for two weeks without any pay.
Another student told investigators that he was paid $50 per week for about 32 hours of work.
“Dr. Miller told [the student] if he did not like this work, he could go home or he [Miller] would call the Immigration and Naturalization Service,” the affidavit states.
Another student at the college said he earns $50 per week for 40 hours of work.
Miller has had a past run-in with law enforcement. In 2006, the Horry County Police Department charged Miller with lewdness and prostitution after Miller exposed himself to an undercover police officer in a bath house at Myrtle Beach State Park.
FLORENCE: Bond set at $250,000 for Wayne Miller, president of Cathedral Bible College with Myrtle Beach campus | Crime | MyrtleBeachOnline.com
Federal law limits those on student visas to a maximum of 20 hours of work per week and that work must be an integral part of the student’s educational program.
Students also complained about expired food and “long periods of time without any hot water, heat or air conditioning.”
Terry Firma, points out that the Bible condones slavery and exploitation. Thus, in an important sense, the practice of using students as slaves in forced labor camps is perfectly Biblical, and by exploiting students as forced labor, the Cathedral Bible College was only staying true to its Biblical heritage and values.
Slavery in South Carolina: Bible College is forced labor camp for foreign students
