Hypocrisy rears its ugly head once more as we find out the answer to: “who do you think is going to build that fence along the border?” Golden State Fence Company was ordered to pay nearly $5 million in fines for hiring undocumented workers. Executives pleaded guilty to knowingly hiring illegal immigrants and could also serve jail time. Golden State Fence was involved in constructing part of the fence around the America/Mexico fence border in San Diego. This is one of the largest fines ever imposed in an immigration case.

Mel Kay, the company’s founder, chairman, and president, will forfeit $200,000. Michael McLaughlin, a manager in the company’s Oceanside office, will pay $100,000. “People slip through the cracks and that’s what happens. Mistakes were made,” said an attorney for Golden State and Mel Kay. The maximum sentence is five years, but prosecutors plan to ask for six months for the two men. Golden State Fence’s attorney says the case proves that construction companies need a guest-worker program.

Last year, US immigration officials said 100 employees at Golden State Fence’s Riverside office were unauthorized to work. After an immigration check in 1999 found undocumented workers on its payroll, Golden State promised to clean house. US Attorney Carol Lam said as many as a third of the company’s 750 workers may have been in the country illegally. Golden State Fence saw sales soar from $60 million in 1998 to $150 million in 2004.

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