Immigration Law

JUDGE IS NOW CONSIDERING SUBSTANTIVE QUESTIONS REGARDING ARIZONA EMPLOYER LAW

By Greg Siskind

Last month, anti-immigration groups cheered that a judge refused to block the new business license/E-Verify law from going in to effect in Arizona. However, the ruling only dealt with procedural issues and the judge did not make a determination on the substantive questions surrounding the new law. Now Judge Wake is asking questions and it is far from clear that the bill's supporters will have sufficient answers. In particular, the judge is focusing on an employer's ability to appeal a decision, particularly when an employer can prove E-Verify is not accurate and an employee is, in fact, a permanent resident or a citizen. Remember, the recent Westat report showed that nearly 10% of naturalized US citizens in the country show up in E-Verify as being unlawfully present in the US. So there is more than just a slight chance there will be false positives. There will be many.

Arizona can probably fix this law to deal with the due process concerns and that would be the appropriate response (as opposed to attacking the lawyers who have raised these issues - the response that we're starting to now see).

Full post as published by Greg Siskind's Blog on January 16, 2008 (boomark / email).