Thread: Supreme Court asked to review Ariz. employer sanctions law

Supreme Court asked to review Ariz. employer sanctions law

by Pete Yost - May. 28, 2010 03:56 PM
Associated Press
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WASHINGTON - The Obama administration has asked the Supreme Court to decide whether federal immigration law trumps Arizona's attempt to punish businesses that employ illegal immigrants.

The solicitor general's office in the Justice Department says an Arizona law on employer sanctions disrupts a careful legal balance that Congress struck nearly 25 years ago.

Lower courts have said that the Arizona law is not pre-empted by the federal law. The Obama administration says that should be reversed.



Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... z0pGnibjc7

Now isn't ths interesting. If I am not mistaken the current Solicitor General is also his nominee for the Supreme Court.

I think AZ needs to sue the federal government for dereliction of duty.

Obama is treading on very dangerous ground here in my opinion (as if he wasnt there before, pffft)

"Arizona law is not pre-empted by the federal law. The Obama administration says that should be reversed."

So much for State's Rights?

Secession is coming. I think it may be time to head to one of the good states...

Lower courts have said that the Arizona law is not pre-empted by the federal law. The Obama administration says that should be reversed.

The shear audacity of the man! This has got to be unconstitutional.

RELATED

Justice Department poised to challenge Arizona law

http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-1068577.html

can SCOTUS laugh and blow them off.....?

Originally Posted by Mayflowerchick

can SCOTUS laugh and blow them off.....?

The Supreme Court decides which cases it will hear.

FindLaw Supreme Court Center: Supreme Court History

Just because a party wants to take its case "all the way to the Supreme Court," the Court will not necessarily hear the case. Instead, such a case must pass ...

supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme_court/supcthist.html

Supreme Court asked to review Ariz. immigrant-employment law

By Robert Barnes
Washington Post Staff Writer

Friday, May 28, 2010; 7:08 PM

The Obama administration urged the Supreme Court on Friday to review and set aside an Arizona law that sanctions employers who hire illegal immigrants, saying it would disrupt the "careful balance" that Congress struck in federal immigration law.

The act in question is not the strict new Arizona law that President Obama and other members of his administration have criticized. That measure requires police to question anyone who appears to be in the country illegally.

The law being challenged, the Legal Arizona Workers Act, imposes tougher sanctions than federal law for hiring illegal workers. If the court chooses to hear the case, its ruling could show how receptive the justices would be to arguments that enforcing immigration laws is a federal responsibility that cannot be usurped by the states.

The Arizona act is being challenged by a coalition of organizations that include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic groups and civil libertarians. Business groups want to head off a proliferation of conflicting state laws on employer sanctions, while others worry that the penalties, which include the loss of business licenses, would discourage companies from hiring even those legally in the country.

The Obama administration, in a brief submitted by Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal, said federal law should preempt state efforts.

The Arizona law would "disrupt a careful balance that Congress struck nearly 25 years ago between two interests of the highest importance: ensuring that employers do not undermine enforcement of immigration laws by hiring unauthorized workers, while also ensuring that employers not discriminate against racial and ethnic minorities legally in the country," Katyal wrote.

The court asked the government in November for its view of the case. The response might have been delayed by two factors. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is the state's former governor and was the first defendant when the challenge was filed. And Obama selected Solicitor General Elena Kagan earlier this month as his choice to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.

Separately, Justice Department officials met Friday in Phoenix with Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and aides to Gov. Jan Brewer (R) to express strong reservations about the new law, which goes into effect July 29. The administration fears the law could lead to widespread racial profiling.

The case the court is considering is Chamber of Commerce v. Candelaria.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 04319.html

MAY 28, 2010, 8:14 P.M. ET.

Justice Department Backs Challenge of Employer Law

By EVAN PEREZ

WASHINGTON—The Justice Department, in a move that could preview a coming battle over Arizona's controversial immigration law, told the Supreme Court on Friday that federal law pre-empts an earlier Arizona immigration law.

The case centers on an Arizona law that took effect in 2008 establishing state penalties for employers that knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

Lower courts have upheld the law, but a group of civil rights organizations have appealed to the Supreme Court, which asked the Justice Department for its view.

In a so-called "friend of the court" filing Friday, the Justice Department joined with opponents of the Arizona employer law in arguing that federal immigration law pre-empts the state penalties ordered by the state statute. The Justice Department brief urged the Supreme Court to take up the case and reverse the lower court rulings.

The filing comes as the Justice Department moves toward a likely challenge of a new law passed last month and intended to crack down on illegal immigrants, by allowing police broader power to seek immigration papers from people stopped for other offenses. President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have criticized the most recent law for possibly violating federal civil rights laws.

Write to Evan Perez at evan.perez@wsj.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... lenews_wsj