13 States Urge Supreme Court to Uphold Arizona E-Verify Law
A coalition of 13 states has asked the Supreme Court to uphold an Arizona law that would suspend the business license of any company found to knowingly hire illegal aliens. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in December. Business groups are appealing a lower federal court's ruling that upheld the law.
The coalition of states argues that they have the authority over business licensing in their states. The 1986 immigration reform bill prohibited states from imposing fines and penalties on businesses that hire illegal aliens, but it exempted the states' authority to licensing.
"Those state laws complement, rather than replace, federal enforcement," Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster wrote in a document filed with the Supreme Court. "Indeed, absent this complementary approach between federal and state law, a significant deterrent to employing 'unauthorized aliens' would be missing."
Joining Missouri on the coalition are Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia. Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia have laws similar to Arizona's law.
For more information, see the Los Angeles Times.