Federal agents raided an El Cajon business that regularly contracts with the U.S. military on Thursday on allegations that the company knowingly employs undocumented immigrants.
The raid occurred at multiple buildings operated by BJS & T Enterprises, which does business under the name San Diego Powder & Protective Coatings, on Magnolia Avenue near Airport Drive.
The company, which according to its website is family-owned, completes metal coatings and has multiple federal government contracts, including work for projects on military and government vehicles, according to a search warrant affidavit unsealed in San Diego federal court Thursday.
Agents with Homeland Security Investigations — a criminal investigative agency under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — began to scrutinize the company while investigating drug traffickers in 2022. At least one man arrested in connection with that case allegedly worked at the company without legal authorization, and further investigation led agents to suspect there were more, according to the affidavit.
The search warrant allowed federal officials to search multiple buildings operated by the company and seize personnel files and internal communications about employees’ tenure with the company, the court document reads. It also allowed agents to seize any documents or electronics containing shift schedules, payroll records, job appointments and contracts.
NBC 7 reported that dozens of armed law enforcement officers in bulletproof vests had handcuffed individuals and lined them up in the industrial area during the raid Thursday afternoon.
It was not immediately clear how many people, if any, were detained at the scene.
Officials from the company could not be reached for comment Thursday evening.
In an interview in front of the business, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Shawn Gibson told NBC 7 the operation was done in conjunction with multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Inspector General.
Gibson did not provide any further information.
An HSI agent wrote in the search warrant affidavit that three years ago, the agency began looking into suspected drug traffickers in the San Diego area. Investigators said the suspects had border crossing visas but didn’t have authorization to work in the U.S. During the investigation, they saw one of the suspects parked in front of the company’s building on Magnolia Avenue.
Agents contacted the company’s general manager, who gave investigators access to one of the suspects’ employee file at the company. He also told the agent the suspect was close with another employee and that both had been terminated recently.
According to investigators, the second man — who allegedly provided a false name to the company — had been indicted under another name in connection with a 2021 drug seizure but was missing on an outstanding warrant.
Investigators contacted the company again after federal agents filed a criminal complaint against the first man, according to the affidavit. The general manager gave investigators the man’s personnel file at the company that included an allegedly fake alien registration card and Social Security number.
The first man had been an employee at the company since March 2018 and had been previously deported by an immigration judge in 2002, the warrant reads. Investigators said government contractors are required to electronically verify their employees’ identifying documents, but the agents believe the company did not.
Upon further investigation, agents said they had identified several other people at the company who were not authorized to work in the U.S. and were being paid less than the other employees, the affidavit says.
An employee working as a cooperating source with federal agents wore a hidden video camera on March 5 and spoke with the company’s general manager. The conversation, according to the affidavit, implied the general manager knew he was undocumented and using fraudulent paperwork to work there under a fake name.
Another exchange between the informant and general manager, during which they discuss another possible hire, led investigators to believe that the general manager was “aware that a portion of his workers were not authorized to work in the U.S.,” the court document reads.
On March 19, an undercover HSI special agent applied for a job at the company using a fraudulent permanent resident card and Social Security number, the search warrant reads.
The undercover agent was reportedly hired at the company anyway and was told by other employees that the company accepts “crooked documents” for undocumented migrants, according to the warrant. The agent was also told that at least three employees were living in a room at the business. However, the undercover agent was not able to locate that room or verify the claim while there.
While the investigation into San Diego Powder & Coating began under the Biden administration, President Donald Trump has promised to crack down on illegal immigration, including through increased worksite raids.
In fiscal 2024, which ended Sept. 30, HSI agents nationwide conducted 265 I-9 inspections, which are audits to determine if workers have the proper authorization. As a result, HSI notified companies with 169 final orders to pay penalties totaling more than $17 million, according to ICE.
Staff writers Alex Riggins and Teri Figueroa contributed to this report.