Audio By Carbonatix
In a 5-3 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court has sustained Arizona’s employer sanctions law.
The law forces employers to check the immigration status of employees, and allows the state to penalize businesses that hire illegal immigrants.
The court’s ruling doesn’t address SB 1070, Arizona’s controversial immigration law. However, it indicates that the majority of the court is willing to give states a little wiggle room when it comes to immigration issues.
In the court’s ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts writes that the law “falls well within the confines of the authority Congress chose to leave to the states.”
When news happens, Phoenix New Times is there —
Your support strengthens our coverage.
We’re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If New Times matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.
“Arizona’s procedures simply implement the sanctions that Congress expressly allowed the states to pursue through licensing laws,” Roberts continues. “Given that Congress specifically preserved such authority for the States, it stands to reason that Congress did not intend to prevent the States from using appropriate tools to exercise that authority.”
Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Sonia Sotomayor, all Democratic appointees, opposed the law, while Justice Elena Kagan didn’t participate in the case because she worked on it while serving as President Barack Obama’s solicitor general.
