Appeals Court (The 9th circus, no less!) upholds tough Arizona immigration law

Posted on September 17, 2008

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday upheld an Arizona law that targets employers who hire illegal immigrants by revoking their licenses to do business in the state. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals noted that the 2007 law, which has not been enforced, arose from “rising frustration with the United States Congress’s failure to enact comprehensive immigration reform.”

Some 12 million illegal immigrants are believed to live in the United States; many work with false papers and the issue of what to do with them has become a political hot potato. It was not immediately clear whether Arizona would now begin enforcing the law or if its opponents would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The American Civil Liberties Union, a plaintiff in the suit, said the court expressly left open the possibility of further challenges if and when it was enforced.

Arizona attorney general Terry Goddard welcomed the ruling, and said his office would “continue to defend the statute should there be an appeal to the highest court.”

Arizona passed the employer sanctions law after a federal immigration overhaul died in the U.S. Congress in June 2007. Immigration, business and civil rights groups challenged the law, saying it was preempted by federal rules governing immigration. The groups also contended the law, called the Legal Arizona Workers Act, violates employers’ due process rights by denying them the chance to challenge allegations that their workers are illegal before their licenses are revoked

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Posted by John Ray. For a daily critique of Leftist activities, see DISSECTING LEFTISM. For a daily survey of Australian politics, see AUSTRALIAN POLITICS Also, don’t forget your roundup of Obama news and commentary at OBAMA WATCH (2). Email me (John Ray) here

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