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Contractor is caught with illegal employees

By Leslie Berestein
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 29, 2006

Another contractor that has done business with Camp Pendleton has been caught employing undocumented immigrants, the second contractor on the Marine Corps base to be busted by immigration authorities in just over a month.

Twenty-two employees of Encinitas-based Burtech Pipeline, which specializes in sewer, water and storm drain construction, were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents yesterday after audits of the company's personnel records.

Altogether, out of 180 employee records audited, 72 company employees were found to be deportable. Federal agents searching for these employees yesterday in their homes were only able to locate 22, all of them male Mexican nationals, according to the agency. Twenty-one were in the country illegally; one employee was a legal resident but is deportable because of a prior narcotics conviction.

One other worker was found to have a narcotics conviction. An additional 17 individuals, including roommates and family members, were arrested on immigration violations during searches of the workers' homes, including a man with a felony conviction.

According to Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for the agency, none of the employees arrested worked on the base. The company's contract ended last July, she said.

Company executives did not respond to interview requests yesterday. According to Mack, Burtech Pipeline does not face criminal penalties at this time.

In late May, 29 employees of Standard Drywall Inc., a Lakeside-based company also contracting with Camp Pendleton, were arrested after an audit by immigration authorities. That company has not faced penalties either. Federal law prohibits employers from knowingly hiring people who are in the country illegally.

The federal government began auditing contractors on the base in November. The audits are part of a 2½-year effort by immigration authorities to investigate companies working in what are deemed critical infrastructure sites, such as military bases, nuclear plants, airports and seaports.

Since December 2003, nearly 900 businesses have been audited in San Diego and Imperial counties. According to Mack, more than 30 percent of these companies have been found to have unauthorized employees.