Thread: Feds seek to void AZ hiring law

Feds seek to void AZ hiring law

May 29, 2010 12:00 am

PHOENIX - The Obama administration wants the U.S. Supreme Court to void Arizona's two-year-old employer-sanctions law, designed to punish companies that knowingly hire undocumented workers.

In legal papers filed Friday, Department of Justice attorneys argue the law illegally infringes on the exclusive rights of the federal government. Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal said it conflicts with a federal law barring states from imposing any sort of penalties on those who employ people not in the country legally.

Katyal said a federal judge in Phoenix and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals both got it wrong in concluding Arizona's law fits within allowable exceptions.

David Selden, attorney for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Friday's intervention by the Department of Justice is a good sign. Employers groups have challenged the legality of the statute from the start.

It also is a victory for the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights groups that believe the law is discriminatory.

Molly Edwards, spokeswoman for the state Attorney General's Office, said it is "unfortunate that the Department of Justice has taken a belated position against Arizona's efforts to reduce the demand for illegal labor."

The move, though, portends potentially bigger problems for the state.

The Justice Department is also weighing whether to ask a federal court to invalidate SB 1070, which requires police to question those they stop for other reasons about their immigration status if they reasonably suspect they are in this country illegally. It also makes being an illegal immigrant a violation of state law.

A decision to sue over SB 1070 could depend on whether the Department of Justice believes the state is treading on turf reserved exclusively for the federal government, which is the conclusion federal prosecutors reached on the employer-sanctions law.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act, approved by Congress in 1986, precludes states and cities from imposing any civil or criminal penalties on companies for hiring illegal immigrants. But the same law allows states to have their own "licensing or similar laws."

Based on that, Arizona legislators enacted the Legal Arizona Worker Act. It allows a judge to suspend any licenses of any firm found guilty of knowingly hiring undocumented workers; a second offense within three years puts the company out of business.

Lower courts said the Arizona law fits within that exception. The Obama administration disagrees.

"The Arizona statute is not at bottom a 'licensing or similar law,' " Katyal wrote in his brief to the high court. "It is instead a statute that prohibits the hiring of unauthorized aliens and uses suspension and revocation of all state-issued licenses as its ultimate sanction."

As proof, Katyal said nothing in the law allowing a license to be taken away requires a judge to determine if a company has the right character or qualifications to engage in the business.

"It identifies only one basis for suspending or revoking an employer's licenses - the knowing or intentional employment of an unauthorized alien," he continued. "And the decision whether to suspend or revoke is made on an across-the-board basis by a state judge rather than on a license-by-license basis by the authorities who issued them."

Beyond that, Katyal said there are procedures that cover cases where federal officials accuse employers of hiring undocumented workers, including the ability to appeal. That, he said, is not the case in Arizona.

"Proceedings occur before local judges, with no possibility of federal district court review," Katyal said. And he said Arizona law, unlike its federal counterpart, has no provision banning discrimination.

Finally, he noted that the penalty under state law - including possibly being put out of business - is far more onerous than the fines allowed under federal law.

On StarNet: Find more border- and immigration-related stories at azstarnet.com/border

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I guess like Obama, this idiot is totally ignoring the 1996 Illegal Immigration & Immigrant Responsibility Act that specifically says that states are encouraged to assist the federal government in enforcing immigration laws. I would assume that includes enforcing the laws against employers who hire illegal aliens, as that's one of the federal laws in the 1996 bill. According to this jerk, all the judges in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals are stupid and he knows better than they do.

this is one of those ballot initiatives that was passed back in 06-07 in regard to illegal immigration in arizona. it passed by a 3-to-1 margin and many hispanic voters voted in favor of this.

so how can the US government go back and say thought you voted for it, we are killing the legislation!!??!?!

Originally Posted by jamesw62

this is one of those ballot initiatives that was passed back in 06-07 in regard to illegal immigration in arizona. it passed by a 3-to-1 margin and many hispanic voters voted in favor of this.

so how can the US government go back and say thought you voted for it, we are killing the legislation!!??!?!

The same way they killed California Prop. 187, which was passed by the voters of CA., and any other law they don't agree with.

David Selden, attorney for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Friday's intervention by the Department of Justice is a good sign. Employers groups have challenged the legality of the statute from the start.

This is how the enforcement portion of the 1986 act was bypassed the burden of proof standard was raised on the government aggrieved former and potential legal employees, and competitors so as to make it much more difficult to prosecute violators.

The move, though, portends potentially bigger problems for the state.

I disagree.

This actually sounds more like some lame attempt to diminish the effectiveness of SB1070 in the face of realizing that there is absolutely nothing the DOJ can do to challenge it.......unless, of course, they want to blatantly expose the agenda of this administration, up to and including the desire to nullify federal law, and somehow I doubt that.

Start out by protecting the employers.....effectively giving them the right to employ illegal aliens......and you provide protection to illegal aliens residing in this state. Because they have the right to be employed here, it only stands to follow that they have a right to be in this state

Let them bring it. Timing is everything and boy, did they ever pick the wrong time with things starting to get so messy for this administration.

"It also is a victory for the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights groups that believe the law is discriminatory."

Is there one single law that the UCLA doesn't find discrimatory? I get so sick and tired of hearing about every law that is passed that isn't a welfare law being called discrimatory.

One of the key things this employer sanction law requires is that every employer sign up and use E-verify which i have done. I have processed well over 200 new hires in the last three years and have no issues with the E-verify system. It is fast, I get a response in seconds, and it takes me about 30 seconds to enter the new employee information.

The businesses that don't want to use the FREE Internet based E-verify system in my opinion have something to hide such as illegal alien employees. They can't say "oh, but we have to have an Internet connection which cost money" because show me a business that doesn't have Internet or couldn't get a free connection via wi-fi from one of their neighboring busineses. Heck, two of the businesses next to me offer free Internet in a free wi-fi.

The UCLA and all its affiliates such as left wingers and welfare crowd can go sit on the big one and do the twist together.

Originally Posted by Arizonaman2008

One of the key things this employer sanction law requires is that every employer sign up and use E-verify which i have done. I have processed well over 200 new hires in the last three years and have no issues with the E-verify system. It is fast, I get a response in seconds, and it takes me about 30 seconds to enter the new employee information.

The businesses that don't want to use the FREE Internet based E-verify system in my opinion have something to hide such as illegal alien employees.

+1

Yes Tinybob I too wonder how they can get around the 1996 Immigration Law Update ? 80

Doesn't the 1996 update take presidence over the 1986 law ?

Originally Posted by USPatriot

Yes Tinybob I too wonder how they can get around the 1996 Immigration Law Update ?

since they have been avoiding it since 1996, its easy for them to say stupid things like "we didnt know that law was there"