[San Diego Union-Tribune 9/22/04; Los Angeles Times 9/22/04]
*1. SAN DIEGO: 27 SEIZED IN RAIDS
On Sept. 21, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided the homes of 14 immigrants employed by Golden State Fence Co., a fence-building contractor based in Oceanside, California, which does business on North Island Naval Air Station in Coronado, near San Diego. The arrested employees--13 Mexicans and one Guatemalan--had worked for Golden State on other jobs, not at the naval base. Some were longtime employees of the company; authorities said they had used fraudulent Social Security numbers and counterfeit visa documents to gain employment. Agents also arrested 13 relatives and other immigrants who were at the raided homes. Four of the 27 people arrested were legal residents with criminal records; the rest were out of status. Authorities are searching for another 30 immigrants who worked for Golden State.
The latest raids followed a four-month audit into the hiring records of more than 250 contractors doing business at the Coronado naval station. ICE officials said Golden State cooperated with the investigation and provided employees' addresses; the company will not face civil or criminal penalties. ICE has apprehended 156 people in San Diego since last Oct. 1 as part of what it calls "Operation Safe Cities," which purports to protect sensitive businesses from security breaches. ICE has requested $23 million in budget enhancements for worksite enforcement in 2005.