Employer sanctions coming up short
By Jim Small - jim.small@azcapitoltimes.com



Published: October 12, 2009 at 7:22 am

Two years ago, a bitter debate raged between supporters and opponents of the state’s new employer sanctions law. The first of its kind in the country, the law gave the state the ability to revoke the business licenses of companies that knew their workers were illegal immigrants.

The law has been in effect for 21 months, yet no businesses have been shut down over hiring practices. In fact, there hasn’t yet been a single business forced to defend itself in court.

Investigations have been mounted, but charges have failed to materialize.

“It’s ironic that what was billed as the toughest immigration law in the country, in a state with a reported 500,000 undocumented workers, hasn’t had any prosecutions. Something’s not right there,â€