EMPLOYMENT LAW: U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Illegal Immigrant Law

May 27, 2011

Washington-- The United States Supreme Court has upheld Arizona's illegal immigrant employment law on Thursday, triggering similar effect to Florida.

The federal court cast a favorable ruling over Arizona's immigration law amendment. According to reports, Supreme Court judges permitted Arizona in penalizing employers who hire illegal workers.

Such new ruling has renewed Florida legislators’ interest in presenting similar immigration amendments to federal court. The statesmen have been worried over the wave of migrants to the county due to relocated outsourcing businesses. The legislators hope that the federal court will grant the same ruling if the amendment is presented.

However, critics have warned that the political conflicts in Tallahassee may prevent legislators’ plan to block illegal migrants from Mexico and Asian countries.

The Supreme Court clarified that each state, including Arizona, has the discretion to regulate local immigration policies that can penalize companies who hire illegal workers. The federal court affirmed Arizona’s authority in imposing penalties such as cancellation of business licenses.

Supporters of Rep. William Snyder, who is expected to pursue the Florida immigration bill in January 2012, have strengthened their campaign for residency verification among job applicants.

On the other hand, Justice Stephen Breyer commented that he didn't vote for Arizona immigration law because of a possibility of race discrimination among qualified applicants with mixed race. He said workers with accent or ethnic features might suffer unfair treatment from their employers.

Critics commented that Florida legislators can content themselves in supporting E-Verify, a federal system that screens legal migrants, instead of imitating Arizona's amended immigration law.