Hispanics criticize Supreme Court ruling on Arizona's illegal immigration law

Leaders of the Latin American and U.S. Hispanic communities continued sharp criticisms Friday against a Supreme Court decision that upholds a tough state law against illegal immigration.

They say the ruling on Thursday will lead to discrimination against Hispanic people.

The Arizona law empowers local police to shut down any business that knowingly hires illegal immigrants.

The Supreme Court ruling is expected to encourage other states to enact similar laws to ensure employees are Americans.

The Obama administration opposed the Arizona law, saying the state was authorizing itself to set immigration policy that the Constitution reserves to the federal government.

The Supreme Court said Arizona was not setting a new immigration policy, merely enforcing the federal laws that already exist.

“Arizona hopes that its law will result in more effective enforcement of the prohibition on employing unauthorized aliens,â€