Thread: Ariz.: Sanction Deadline Moved

Ariz.: Sanction Deadline Moved
By JACQUES BILLEAUD 01.17.08, 11:00 AM ET

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/01/ ... 43554.html

PHOENIX - Arizona's 15 county prosecutors agreed Wednesday that they won't take any complaints filed under the state's new employer sanctions law to court until March 1.

Though they had previously agreed to wait until Feb. 1 to bring cases to court, the prosecutors changed that agreement to give a federal judge adequate time to rule on a challenge to the law, which prohibits businesses from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. The deal also was aimed at giving people involved in the lawsuit time to appeal the ruling.

U.S. District Judge Neil Wake, who was working toward issuing a final ruling before February, heard arguments Wednesday from lawyers over whether he should overturn the law.

The business groups who filed the legal challenge contended the law was an unconstitutional attempt by the state to regulate immigration.

Attorneys for the state and counties argued the state is on solid legal ground in trying to crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Attorneys for business groups said the law lacks due process protections and doesn't provide employers the ability to appeal findings that a given worker isn't eligible to work in the United States.

The law requires employers to check the employment eligibility of their new workers through a federal database.

Louis Moffa Jr., an attorney for the business groups, said employers who have legal workers who have been erroneously found to be ineligible to work in the country can't challenge the findings, because only the federal government can make that call.

Wake said businesses could clear up the problem by providing documents such as birth certificates that show workers' legal presence in the country.

"Show them that you've got this record," Wake said.

One key unresolved issue is whether the law applies to all workers on a business' payroll or only those hired after the law took effect earlier this month.

Wake said the law is unclear on this point yet imposes harsh penalties for violators.

Under the law, businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants could face a business license suspension lasting up to 10 days. Second-time violators would have their business licenses permanently revoked.

Paul Eckstein, an attorney for an employer group, said the penalties in the Arizona law are more harsh than those in a federal law prohibiting such hires.

Under the federal law, a first offense carries civil fines from $275 to $2,200 for each illegal immigrant hired. The criminal penalties are fines as high as $3,000 and up to six months in prison for each illegal hiring.

The business groups argue that the state was intruding into the federal government's ability to regulate immigration.

State Solicitor General Mary O'Grady, who is defending the law, said the law ought to be upheld because the federal law, while preventing states from imposing civil or criminal penalties against violators, lets states take licensing actions against violators.

"We are doing what Congress authorized us to do," O'Grady said.


Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

State Solicitor General Mary O'Grady, who is defending the law, said the law ought to be upheld because the federal law, while preventing states from imposing civil or criminal penalties against violators, lets states take licensing actions against violators.

"We are doing what Congress authorized us to do," O'Grady said.

"The Full Faith and Credit Clause of the Constitution generally requires states to recognize out-of-state court judgments. But the Constitution otherwise leaves each state with the authority to decide who is licensed to do what within that state."

Fences make good neighbors.

I'll plug this in here instead of starting a new thread. You gotta see this one. Mexican Lawmakers telling Arizona how to govern?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ht3jX01JOqA