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Federal law enforcement took over as an unconsolidated El Cajon on Thursday, running a search warrant on a business suspected of intentionally hiring undocumented immigrants, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Dozens of law enforcement officials were forming the line with bullet vests and handcuffed lines in an industrial area near Airport Drive and Magnolia Avenue in El Cajon.
On Friday, the operation targeted several buildings run by BJS&T Enterprises, which operates as San Diego Powder & Protective Coating (SDPC). The investigation assures it was not sealed Thursday, approved by US Magistrate Judge Barbara L. Major, and that investigators are pursuing their workplaces to knowingly employ undocumented immigrants who use fraudulent documents and make false statements to the Social Security Agency.
On Friday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California announced in a news release that four people detained Thursday, including SDPC general manager John Washburn, were charged in federal court. The 57-year-old GM has been accused of being a “conspiracy with an alien.” This is a felony that will result in a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of $250,000. His three co-defendants have been charged with felony “proof,” and are essentially accusations that are exposed to the maximum of similar sentences for working in the United States using false documents.
ICE has not answered how many people were detained in total at SDPC on Thursday, or how many agents were involved.
On Friday’s release from the U.S. Lawyer’s office, authorities said the investigation was part of an operation that just began this month. The statement said it was a “national initiative to repel illegal immigration violations, achieve complete exclusion of cartels and cross-border criminal organizations, and organize the Department of Justice’s complete resources to protect communities from perpetrators of violent crime.”
However, none of the defendants who appeared in court on Friday were charged with violent crimes or ties to the cartel.
The four men will return to federal court on April 8th.
Agents searched four buildings at the facility and interviewed 60-70 workers. About 20 people were taken into custody, but they were all taken into custody and questioned for several hours.
After the building was secured and people were taken into custody, Sean Gibson, ICE HSI Special Agents, came out to update the media.
“Today, HSI, together with many federal partners from [the Department of Justice] And the Department of Homeland Security and the inspector’s office are running criminal search warrants on the business behind me for job enforcement violations,” Gibson said. [it’s] It’s very limited to what we can explain about it, but I would say that the search warrant is not sealed by the court…”
The SDPC had a large federal presence lingering on Thursday night.
The federal partner was in El Cajon on Thursday to implement a criminal search warrant for workplace enforcement violations, officials said. Chandel Menezes Report for NBC 7.
Search Warrant
SDPC works under multiple contracts with the federal government. As part of these agreements, workers’ employment qualifications must be verified electronically.
SDPC attracted the attention of federal agents during the October 2022 drug trafficking investigation, according to a search warrant. This states that a pair of suspects worked there but ended when federal agents checked into the business.
Federal agents determined that the former employee had provided the SDPC with a permanent resident card and a Social Security card, and the business later shared it with the agent. According to the search warrant, documents provided by former employees who were caught in drug probes should have been easily detected as fakes in the federal e-verify program to check the documents.
NBC 7 looked into the government contracts held by the company and search warrants offered in the business on Thursday.
Additionally, in February 2025, a source of cooperation from the 2022 survey told the agent he wanted to illegally rejoin the man who had worked at SDPC. The agent looked at the person’s SDPC personnel file and found a copy of the permanent resident card and Social Security card with his name. The problem was that he said he decided, the Social Security number on the card belongs to someone else. The incident has launched a larger investigation.
Then, on March 5th this year, the informant recorded a conversation with the SDPC general manager. There, GM admitted that he knew workers were using fake documents.
Two weeks later, a secret agent applied for a job at SDPC using fraudulent documents and was hired. According to the search warrant, the agent was tasked with working with military equipment in his first two days, according to the search warrant.
Before the attack, the search warrants identified seven people working for SDPC as not eligible to work in the US. More than 12 people were arrested at the scene Thursday.
The owner of San Diego Powder & Protective Coating said it complied with hiring protocols despite allegations that the company intentionally hired undocumented workers despite allegations from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The company has 17 contracts with the US Navy, but requires a higher level of scrutiny in the employment process.
Business owner Philip Johnson spoke with NBC 7 on Friday and said he believes the investigation began when the two employees were arrested.
“Since then, there have been ongoing investigations of my facility and the staff working here,” he said.
Johnson went on to say he is confident in his employment practices and follows California law.
“We do our best to examine people. We’ll have them sign the I-9 form. We’ll take a copy of our driver’s license and Social Security card, we have all the files. The investigators come in, we take all those files and we’re working with them.”
Johnson said his business has US government contracts, including a recent contract with the US Border Patrol. In the process, he said he submitted 15 people for background checks and was flagged with bad documents in the process.
Workers, families and advocates respond to arrests
The incident took an emotional toll on workers, their families and supporters who were standing outside.
“I hope they’re the bad guys, and I hope it’s not just people who work,” said Mike Gonzalas, who owns a parts store near SDPC.
The employee, who wanted to be identified as John, was detained for four and a half hours before he was allowed to leave. He says the employees were split into several different rooms and the agents were respectful, but this was the first time he had experienced this type of interrogation.
“It’s been a long day,” John said. “The first time I’m involved in this, it’s kind of crazy. I’ve never experienced this. It’s happening everywhere, and now it’s happening here.”
As the operation continued into the night, a crowd of friends, family, colleagues and human rights activists grew.
“There was a human rights violation happening here and I wanted to testify to what was going on,” human rights advocate Erin Turmo Grasi told NBC 7.
Evelin Leyva told NBC 7 on the scene that her brother-in-law was working for the company and was inside the factory during the incident on Thursday. She thinks he has been detained.
“Everyone inside, they’re just working, and I feel very sad,” Leiba said. “They’re not doing anything. They’re not criminals, so I don’t know why they’re doing this… he’s just hardworking. He’s not criminals. We’re not here for criminals. We’re here for American dreams.
The crowd gathered outside San Diego Powder & Protective Coating in El Cajon on March 27, 2025, to target businesses suspected of federal agents hiring undocumented immigrants.
The investigators were looking for operational records such as shift schedules, duties appointments, contracts, financial records, and pay and tax information, according to the unsealed warrant. They also planned to access personnel files and internal communications that could provide details about employment of individuals at SDPC.
Local officials respond
U.S. Rep. Sarah Jacobs, who oversees District 51, including Elle Cajon, said her office “submitted inquiries to DHS and ICE to find out what was going on and ensure that the legitimate process was followed, but there are no details of this operation.”
Elle Cajon City Council recently passed a resolution that solidified the city’s intention to work with federal immigration authorities as Mayor Elle Cajon Wells is a voting member, but it is not clear whether the city has supported investigators in this example.
Wells suspected that the city’s resolution was involved in Thursday’s enforcement and he didn’t know when, where it would take place or where it would happen, but he was told that immigration officers were in town this week.
“I don’t know anything about this particular group of people,” Wells said. “I’m just telling you. I’m putting together my work based on what’s going on around the country, my own arguments. If these are not dangerous people, I’m very shocked.”
The business is located in unincorporated El Cajon, overseen by San Diego County. The county’s policy is not to support federal immigration officials. This is a policy that San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez said she would not follow. Instead, the sheriff’s department will continue to actively notify the ice of criminally convicted individuals permitted under state law, she said.
NBC 7 has several reporters on the ground working to gather the latest information. Update this story for the latest.
Report by Mike Dorfman on NBC 7 – Edited
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