Border Fence Bosses Sentenced for Hiring Illegal Immigrants

The president of an engineering company that helped to build a border fence to prevent Mexicans crossing illegally into the US was hoist with his own petard yesterday when he was sentenced to six months house arrest for hiring illegal immigrants.


Mel Kay, the founder and head of Golden State Fence company, was also ordered to carry out 1,040 hours of community service and was put on probation for three years. A second company chief, Ted Moskowitz, was given the same sentence after both men pleaded guilty last December to knowingly employing illegal workers.

The sentences neatly illustrated the paradox surrounding the US crackdown on illegal immigration, primarily from Mexico and other Latin American countries. While many Republicans are committed to reducing

the flow, many employers, particularly in the southern states, are dependant on the incomers for seasonal harvesting and low-paid manual work.

When Golden State Fence was first investigated for its employment practices it was estimated that a third of its 750 workers may have been living in the country below the radar. The firm builds fencing around homes, offices and military bases and also took part in the late 1990s construction of 6,100ft (1,859m) of the 14-mile (22.5km) fence near the Otay Mesa border crossing in San Diego.

Golden State argued during the proceedings that though it admitted breaking the law, the case illustrated the problems construction companies face in the absence of a ready supply of workers. The firm called for a guest-worker programme.

Shortly before the Republicans lost control of Congress last November, they approved $1.2bn for border fencing. President Bush has also committed the administration to building more than 700 miles of fencing along the south-west border.



In addition 1,000 new border patrol agents have been brought on board on top of 3,000 National Guardsmen. The number of illegal entrants to the US has already begun to fall and the decline is expected to become more marked as the crackdown takes effect.

But as it does so more and more farmers and other businesses relying on manual workers are likely to suffer from labour shortages, which in turn could prompt renewed calls for a rethink of the country's divided stance on immigration.