A story that epitomizes what is wrong with our judicial system in this country regarding employers of illegal aliens, is the story of Golden State Fence Company. You may remember that Golden State Fence Company was the employer in southern California that hired illegal aliens to work on the Otay-Mesa border fence. Golden State Fence Company was busted in 1999, 2004 and again in 2005 for hiring illegal aliens. Some of the illegal aliens busted in earlier raids were on the payroll at later busts because owner Melvin Kay admits he just ignored the warnings from the federal government and rehired them. He didn't think it was a big deal.

Prosecutors are said to have found that a third of the 750 Golden State Fence Company employees were illegal aliens. In 2004 ICE agents found evidence that 368 of Golden State's employees had a "no match" on their Social Security Number to their name.

Kay was busted and prosecuted. In December 2006, the head of ICE, Julie Myers, tried to sound like she would be tough with Mel Kay and said "This settlement and guilty plea clearly show that employers who knowingly and blatantly hire illegal workers will pay dearly for such transgressions"

So how tough was the government on Mel Kay? In the end he received a plea agreement for the company to pay $5 million and he received 6 months of house arrest which allowed him to continue to work at the company. Yes, that is the kind of serious and harsh "paying dearly" that we should expect from our government on cracking down on employers of illegal aliens. People who are not competing on an even playing field with other businesses. People who are making a ton of cash illegally. People who are openly and arrogantly flaunting the law.

Now in a story at the Washington Post the owner Mel Kay admits from virtually day one that he hired illegal aliens and then had those illegal employees recruit others. Golden State Fence Company was started in 1984 and by hiring illegal aliens it grew quickly. Kay caught a break in 1986 when President Reagan signed an amnesty for illegal aliens. Kay's employees benefited by becoming legal and Kay was off the hook for any potential previous violations.

It should be noted that last year's Senate amnesty bill would have also given a pass to all of the employers of illegal aliens over the past 2 decades. They would have received an amnesty, it was written right in the bill, and people like Melvin Kay who have been hiring illegal aliens for years, would have gotten away permanently with breaking federal law. Now you know another reason, other than cheap labor, that businesses are pushing so hard for an illegal alien amnesty.

But just like any criminal that gets away with a crime and faces no penalty, Kay went back to his tried and true business plan of making tons of money and running other companies out of business through using cheap illegal labor. His company eventually reached a peak revenue of $150 million a year. Exactly how many legitimate businesses he ruined along the way - and their owners - that were trying to follow the law will never be known. After all, hiring illegal aliens is a victimless crime according to people like Melvin Kay.

During the housing boom of the 90's Kay's business thrived and he hired more and more illegal aliens claiming he couldn't find Americans and legal residents to do the job. Kay also claims he paid workers $35,000 a year and increased their wages to $60,000 after 3 years with full benefits, but I find that hard to believe. Not that $35,000 in southern California is a lot of money with the high cost of living there, and I'm not alone in my disbelief. ICE agents also found it unbelievable that legal workers could not be found.

Kay admits that 75% of his workers are Hispanic. That is another problem that I would take up issue with, since I'm sure he is in violation of the Equal Employment Opportunity laws. On their website they state that the company is an Equal opportunity employer, but I find it simply hard to believe that with Hispanics making up only 14% of this country that his workforce is not more diverse simply due to the population diversity. Has he discriminated against any people based on race during hiring? Have his hiring managers? If this guy wasn't already an obvious crook who has been violating the law for more than two decades, I'd expect someone to look into that, but it's already quite obvious that this guy cares nothing about business ethics, America or American workers.

The government rolled over though in its prosecution of Melvin kay. Even with obvious irrefutable evidence they struck a plea agreement with him. They recommended 6 months in prison. In March 2007 though things took a twist as U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz sat on the case. This judge was a bleeding heart who thought that Melvin Kay took good care of his employees even if he repeatedly - and knowingly - broke federal laws over and over and over again.

"Are these the poster children for being the first ones to get jail time? I think the answer is no." Moskowitz said in his decision. He took pity on Melvin Kay and rather than make an example of Kay and send him to prison, he sentenced Kay to 6 months house arrest, which would allow Kay to continue running the fence company.

I would argue that yes, Melvin Kay is the poster child of employers that hire illegal aliens. He flaunts the law, makes a profit by beating his competition unfairly and does it for decades with no worries about justice ever catching up. While Kay pleaded guilty, his punishment just reinforced the beliefs of himself and other business owners, that in the end they will not have to face any justice or repercussions for their illegal actions.

Kay was removed from house arrest in September, 2007.

Since then Kay has renamed the business to Fenceworks Inc and is trying to build it up legitimately, but admits things aren't going as well as before. The federal government placed a ban on his business from receiving any future federal contracts. A ban which didn't last. Kay managed to get the federal government ban removed from his company in June, 2007 and went on to bid on portions of the border fence again - even while under house arrest!

Golden State Fence Company has gone from 750 employees down to 450. It has also seen lost revenue going from $150 million in sales at its peak to $42.2 million in recent statements. Kay blames his company's current slowdown on the down housing market.

But maybe Melvin Kay is finally receiving his just reward. By having to compete against businesses who are still employing illegal aliens.

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Their contact information:
Website: www.goldenstatefence.com
Phone (Toll Free): 800.350.5620
Phone (Local): 951.788.5620
Email: info@goldenstatefence.com

Golden State Fence Company (Fenceworks Inc)
870 N. Main St
Riverside, CA
92501-1016