By Michael Doyle
Knoxville News-Sentinel
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld an Arizona law that severely penalizes businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
In a ruling that’s likely to embolden Congress and other states, the court declared that Arizona’s law fits comfortably within the state’s powers.
“Arizona hopes that its law will result in more effective enforcement of the prohibition on employing unauthorized aliens,” Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. wrote for the 5-3 majority, adding that “the Arizona regulation does not otherwise conflict with federal law.”
The highly anticipated decision keeps intact the 2007 Legal Arizona Workers Act. Under the law, employers could have their business licenses suspended or revoked for hiring illegal immigrants. The ruling will make it easier for states to pass similar laws, even though immigration is traditionally a federal responsibility.
The decision in Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting didn’t involve a more controversial Arizona measure that requires police to check the immigration status of individuals in certain circumstances. That law remains under separate legal challenge.
The law upheld Thursday also requires Arizona employers to use a federal program called E-Verify to check the immigration status of potential workers. Roberts called this state requirement “entirely consistent” with federal law.
Nationwide, more than 215,000 employers have signed up for the optional E-Verify system. Other states now can follow Arizona’s lead to make its use mandatory; South Carolina and Mississippi already have done so. In Congress, some lawmakers soon will introduce legislation that would make E-Verify mandatory everywhere.
“American jobs should be preserved for American workers,” said Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and the author of a pending E-Verify bill.
The decision Thursday affirms the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which had likewise upheld the state law. It’s a defeat for the politically powerful U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Obama administration, both of which had opposed the law.
“Either directly or through the uncertainty that it creates, the Arizona statute will impose additional burdens upon lawful employers,” Justice Stephen Breyer wrote in dissent.
Breyer, joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, added that fearful employers may “erect ever stronger safeguards against the hiring of unauthorized aliens, without counterbalancing protections against discrimination.”
Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas joined in most of the majority opinion.
Justice Elena Kagan didn’t participate in the case because of her prior job as the Obama administration’s solicitor general.
Copyright 2011 Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.