Supreme Court Decides Arizona Immigration Law

On March 22, the Supreme Court upheld a 2007 Arizona immigration law

, becoming part of the contentious national debate on immigration. The law allows the State to shut down businesses that hire unauthorized aliens, giving teeth to federal immigration policies. As the Obama administration has failed to make headway in the immigration issue, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has taken matters into her own hands making attempts to enact state immigration laws. Business immigration law has been viewed as the most tenable path to gaining more control of illegal immigration, because if businesses dont hire illegals, they will not have a financial reason to immigrate. This is a major issue for border states seeking to limit the influx of illegals, a population believed to number 11 million, and the resulting economic strain on state finance.

The law in question, the Legal Arizona Workers Act (LAWA), suspends or revokes business licenses of employers who knowingly hire illegals, and requires that employers verify employee work-authorization status via a federal electronic records system. Sometimes called the Employer Sanctions Law, the measure was signed into law by then-governor Janet Napolitano in 2007, and went into effect January 1, 2008. The Obama administration, along with business and civil rights groups, argued that the Arizona law should be struck down for conflicts with federal statutes. The court rejected that assertion in a 5-3 vote. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, in agreement with lower court rulings. According to Roberts:

We hold that Arizonas licensing law falls well within the confines of the authority Congress chose to leave to the state Arizona has taken the route least likely to cause tension with federal law.

Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Samuel Alito, Jr., and Clarence Thomas joined Roberts. Dissenting were Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and Sonia Sotomayor. Justice Elena Kagan was recused because she worked on the case prior to taking her appointment to the court. As a result, other cities and states could follow Arizonas lead and enact similar measures. Currently Colorado, Mississipi, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia have similar immigration laws.

The Supreme Courts decision did not deal with the highly controversial 2010 law requiring Arizona police to check the identification of anyone suspected of not being in the United States legally. Further, the justices did not offer any opinion on it. Critics of the 2010 law charge that it will increase racial profiling and disproportionally affect Hispanics, who may or may not be naturalized citizens. The most contentious portions of this law have been stopped from going into effect by a federal judge and the U.S. appeals court, but Arizona intends to take this matter to the Supreme Court, too.

by: schatzistef

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