Apparently, Swift is not the only company under fire for hiring illegal aliens.  According to Ruben Navarrette, "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" because "Golden State Fence Co., a Southern California-based company that has built fences on the U.S.-Mexico border to keep out illegal immigrants" "pled guilty in U.S. District Court to knowingly hiring illegal immigrants in violation of the Immigration Reform and Control Act."

Sadly, the US Army is part of this scandal.  A PDF letter (I have saved in case of deletion) from Fort Irwin serves as a letter of reference on the Gold State Fence corporate website.  The letter claims Golden State Fence is "ethically sound".

"Ethically sound"? NPR reports that,

A fence-building company in Southern California agrees to pay nearly $5 million in fines for hiring illegal immigrants. Two executives from the company may also serve jail time. The Golden State Fence Company's work includes some of the border fence between San Diego and Mexico.

After an immigration check in 1999 found undocumented workers on its payroll, Golden State promised to clean house. But when followup checks were made in 2004 and 2005, some of those same illegal workers were still on the job. In fact, U-S Attorney Carol Lam says as many as a third of the company's 750 workers may have been in the country illegally.

Golden State Fence built millions of dollars' worth of fencing around homes, offices, and military bases. Its president and one of its Southern California managers will pay fines totaling $300,000. The government is also recommending jail time for Melvin Kay and Michael McLaughlin, probably about six months. (Emphasis mine)

Not exactly "ethically sound"…

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