Legal News

Arizona Immigration Law, Employer Sanctions Upheld

A federal appeals court has upheld the 2007 Legal Arizona Workers Act, which sanctions employers and businesses that willfully hire illegal aliens. A number of civil rights organizations and Arizona business groups had challenged the law, which allows the state to revoke the business licenses of employers who are in violation.

In Wednesday's decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit turned away the challenge, holding that 1) the Arizona law did not overstep federal immigration authority, and 2) the law satisfies constitutional due process requirements because employers are allowed to present evidence to "rebut the presumption" of an employee's illegal status -- giving businesses a "meaningful opportunity to be heard before sanctions are imposed."

The Associated Press reports that the "court left the door open for other challenges, saying no one has been accused of violating the law since it took effect nine months ago."

• Read Wednesday's Decision Upholding the Arizona Law [PDF file]
• FAQ: Legal Arizona Workers Act (Arizona Attorney General)
• Associated Press: Appeals Court Upholds Arizona Immigration Law
• Arizona Capitol Times: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Employer Sanctions Law
• Arizona Republic: Actual Case of Sanction Could Open Law to Review
• Immigration Law for Employers (FindLaw)
• Immigration Law Center (FindLaw)

Full post as published by FindLaw's Common Law on September 18, 2008 (boomark / email).