Thread: Top Executives Plead Guilty to Pattern of Hiring Illegal Ali

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Top Executives Plead Guilty to Pattern of Hiring Illegal Aliens
By Jim Kouri, CPP
Dec 21, 2006 - 9:13:59 AM

In an effort by the US authorities to show the nation that hiring illegal aliens is serious business, two corporate executives at a California fence building company pleaded guilty last week to the hiring of illegal alien workers, following a multi-year federal investigation.

As part of the guilty plea, the Golden State Fence Company, based in San Diego, agreed to forfeit $4.7 million gained from its illegal activities. In addition, Golden State's President Melvin Kay and Vice-President Michael McLaughlin will pay fines of $200,000 and $100,000 respectively.

Golden State Fence Company, which builds fences for residential, commercial, and military projects throughout California, was first notified in writing that at least 15 of its employees at its Oceanside office were unauthorized alien workers following a visit by Immigration officials in July 1999.

At that time, Golden State stated they were terminating these employees. However, in September 2004, ICE officials again determined that at least 49 Golden State employees at the Oceanside office were unauthorized aliens. Three of these employees were among those listed in the 1999 notice as unauthorized alien workers.

In June and September 2005, ICE agents observed unauthorized aliens listed in the 1999 and 2004 notices working at the Oceanside office. Then in August 2005, ICE agents inspected Golden State's Riverside, California office. ICE agents again found that at least three of the employees working in the Riverside office were unauthorized aliens who were listed in the 1999 notice as unauthorized alien workers.

In November 2005, ICE agents executed search warrants at the Oceanside and Riverside offices. Agents seized evidence showing these offices engaged in a pattern of hiring unauthorized alien workers. From September 2004 to September 2005, records maintained by Golden State revealed that the company hired more than ten unauthorized alien workers that had been listed in either the 1999 or 2004 notices.

Social security records also showed that hundreds of the names and social security numbers Golden State provided for its employees did not match the Social Security Administration's records.

During the execution of the search warrants, ICE agents arrested 16 employees who were unauthorized alien workers. When interviewed, many of Golden State's former employees stated they were unauthorized alien workers, that Golden State's managers knew they were unauthorized workers and Golden State hired them despite their illegal status.

"This settlement and guilty plea clearly show that employers who knowingly and blatantly hire illegal workers will pay dearly for such transgressions," said Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Julie Myers in a statement released Friday.

"In 2006, ICE tripled the number of arrests made in conjunction with worksite-related investigations and we will be expanding our focus in this arena further in the year ahead," she said.

United States Attorney Carol Lam whose office prosecuted this case said, "Employers have long known that it is a federal crime to knowingly hiring illegal aliens. They now also know that we are serious about prosecuting the crime."

At sentencing, Kay and McLaughlin face a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were assisted in the investigation by the US Border Patrol, the Social Security Administration and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).

IndyStar.com Opinion

December 21, 2006


Ruben Navarrette
The only honest way to combat illegal immigration


SAN DIEGO -- Christmas came early for those of us who believe that the only honest way to combat illegal immigration is to bring criminal charges against the employers who hire illegal immigrants.


That's what happened recently in a case involving Golden State Fence Co., a Southern California-based company that has built fences on the U.S.-Mexico border to keep out illegal immigrants. The company and two of its executives recently pled guilty in U.S. District Court to knowingly hiring illegal immigrants in violation of the Immigration Reform and Control Act.
Perfect. And don't kid yourself. This doesn't seem to be a case of a well-meaning employer who tried to do the right thing but couldn't tell a fake ID from a real one. According to federal investigators, Golden State Fence Co. had repeatedly been warned not to hire illegal immigrants but did so anyway. The company even rehired some workers after being told not to because the workers were here illegally.
How brazen. It's as if company officials either didn't care about the law or perhaps never thought they'd get caught. Now that they have worked out a plea agreement with the government, the company and top executives have openly admitted to repeatedly hiring illegal workers between January 1999 and November 2005.
During roughly the same time period, Golden State Fence Co. -- which now employs about 750 people -- enjoyed a boom in business. According to The Associated Press, sales for the company went from $60 million in 1998 to $150 million in 2004.
As part of the plea, the company agreed to pay a penalty of $4.7 million. In addition, Mel Kay, company founder, chairman and president, will hand over $200,000, and office manager Michael McLaughlin agreed to pay $100,000.
The charges also call for potential jail time, anywhere from six months to five years, for the two executives. Sentencing is set for March 28.
This sort of thing happens only once in a blue moon. Criminal prosecutions of those who hire illegal immigrants are incredibly rare. Much too rare, if you ask me. The law should be rewritten to make it easier for the government to go after employers, even those who aren't as blatant as Golden State Fence Co. about flouting the law. And any federal crackdown shouldn't come with exemptions for the casual user -- those private citizens who have come to depend so heavily on gardeners, nannies and housekeepers.
Still, even the threat of civil penalties is enough to sometimes make employers and those who defend them squeamish.
I've seen tough-talking Republican candidates for Congress stumble and stammer when asked if their crusade against illegal immigrants extended to confiscating the assets of companies that hire illegal immigrants. And I've seen members of the Minutemen, that border vigilante group, stand up at public forums and express heartfelt concern about those poor employers who might have their Fourth Amendment rights trampled by authorities in worksite raids.
Some of the most recent raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) occurred just last week. The target was Swift & Co. meatpacking plants in six states: Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Colorado, Utah and Minnesota. Those raids netted 1,282 illegal immigrants. But the company wasn't charged with any wrongdoing, and neither were any executives or supervisors.
Did company officials know that they had so many illegal immigrants working for them? Believe what you like. But consider this: Swift & Co. executives have said they tried to work with immigration officials to prevent the raid and that -- once they became aware of ICE's interest in their work force in March -- conducted internal interviews of employees. More than 400 workers left the company. According to Swift's general counsel, at one point, ICE asked the company to stop the interviews, which probably alerted workers that a sweep was coming.
I bet that officials at Golden State Fence Co. are sorry they didn't think of that gimmick. Lawyers for Kay and McLaughlin say they'll ask for leniency at the sentencing hearing. But what the defendants deserve is some time in a jail cell.
It's people like these who are the source of the problem and yet they fly quietly under the radar, making their profits, while opportunistic politicians, law enforcement and border vigilantes are content to pick on illegal immigrants, who can't vote, usually don't speak English and can't defend themselves.
That's not sporting. In fact, it runs counter to the best traditions of a country that prides itself on not singling out the little guy while the big guy is free to hire again.


Navarrette is a San Diego Union-Tribune columnist. Contact him via e-mail at ruben.navarrette@uniontrib.com.