Alert McCain:Federal Judge Upholds Arizona Illegal Immigrant Hiring Law
Attention John McCain, “A federal judge on Thursday upheld an Arizona law that prohibits businesses from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants and yanks the business licenses of those that do.”
Businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants could face a business license suspension lasting up to 10 days under the new law. Second-time violators would have their business licenses permanently revoked. The law also requires businesses to use an otherwise voluntary federal database to verify the employment eligibility of new workers.
The law is intended to weaken the economic incentive for immigrants to sneak across the border and lessen Arizona’s role as the busiest illegal gateway into the country. The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that illegal immigrants account for one in 10 workers in the Arizona economy.Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said the law is “a good-faith effort to deal with the immigration crisis by focusing on those relatively few employers who intentionally or knowingly hire illegal immigrants.”
Opponents of the law argue it would burden employers and poison Arizona’s business climate. Supporters say state punishments are needed because the federal government isn’t doing enough to enforce its own law prohibiting employers from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.
Arizona’s 15 county prosecutors have agreed not to take any complaints filed under the employer sanctions law to court until March 1, giving the people involved in the case enough time to appeal Wake’s ruling.
Wake’s ruling did not settle whether the law applies to all workers, or only those hired after it took effect in January. The judge noted that the law’s reach has been debated, with lawmakers disagreeing on what was intended, and said that issue would have to be settled in a future case.
Earlier rulings on similar measures have been mixed. In July, a federal judge struck down a Hazleton, Pa., ordinance that would deny business permits for companies that employ illegal immigrants, but another judge upheld a similar measure in Valley Park, Mo., last week.
I will defer this to FAO because he voted on the law, but it would be my guess that when he voted, there were no strings attached. I would bet he voted to punish any employer that knowingly has illegal immigrants working for them. The agriculture sector is normally excluded as they are alotted a certain number of migrant workers per year.
The database that they refer to is the one my sister uses to fill temporary positions. It works! Every applicant is run through the system.
February 8, 2008 - 10:26 AM on February 8th, 2008
FAO, You can tell us if Sheriff Joe is going to send his deputy, Shaq, after the Illegals.
February 8, 2008 - 09:48 PM on February 8th, 2008
Joe is already collecting the complaints. Of course the Chamber of Commerce intends to appeal to the 9th Circus. With the 9th circus’s rate of being overturned,(over 80% reversed rate) I almost hope that they overrule this judge’s decision. For them to do so would almost assuredly guarantee that the law passes Constitutional muster at the Supreme Court. The CoC claims that it will harm law abiding businesses. That of course is an incredibly specious argument because you have to “knowingly” hire an illegal to be cited under the law. How can you be a law abiding business when you are KNOWINGLY violating federal hiring laws?
February 9, 2008 - 06:33 PM on February 9th, 2008
GOOD THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE OVER THE GREEDY BUISNESS WACKOS