U.S. District Judge Neil Wake Thursday upheld the Legal Arizona’s Workers Act, a law that forbids an employer from hiring an employee whom the employer knows to be an illegal immigrant. The new law, which was first enacted last year and became effective January 1, 2008, requires employers to use the E-verify system, a federal database, to verify the legal status of individuals before hiring. The legislation allows for the suspension or revocation of an employer’s license if he or she violates the law.
The court rejected a lawsuit by business groups that claimed the law is unconsitutional as only the federal government, not the state, can regulate immigration. According to the court, federal pre-emption applies to civil or criminal penalties other than licensing laws. The court previously dismissed a similar lawsuit filed by civil rights groups on the basis that the law had not yet gone into effect. Representatives of the 15 county attorneys earlier agreed not to prosecute employers who violate the law prior to March 1, 2008 until the case could be heard.
Source: http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/224165; http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/02/federal-judge-upholds-arizona.php
