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Arizona seemed headed for victory in the U.S. Supreme Court after the justices heard a challenge Wednesday to the state's law providing harsh penalties for businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
If the state does carry the day, the absence of Justice Elena Kagan -- who recused herself from hearing the case -- may be the key factor. Based on the oral argument in the courtroom, the legal battle seemed likely to result in a 4-4 tie, with the court's liberal and conservative justices evenly divided. Had Kagan participated, she might have tipped the balance, and Arizona might have lost. But a tie vote would leave the lower court ruling, which favored Arizona, undisturbed.
Kagan has declined to sit in on cases which her office handled when she was solicitor general at the Justice Department. The federal government filed briefs opposing the state.
This was not the showdown over Arizona's controversial law requiring police to detain suspected illegal aliens -- the case which is now on appeal and has not yet reached the Supreme Court. Instead, the justices today heard a challenge to a law passed three years ago that gives the state authority to revoke a company's license to do business if it knowingly hires illegal workers. Opponents call that sanction as "the death penalty for business."
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups claim the Arizona statute is preempted by federal immigration law, which sets out the procedures employers must follow to verify a job applicant's legal status and the punishments for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. The federal law says it preempts any state or local laws that impose punishments "other than through licensing or similar laws."
Arizona's law gives the state the power to revoke a business license for employees who fail to use the federal database, a system known as E-Verify, and knowingly hire illegal workers.
"This is not a licensing law. This is a worker authorization sanctioning law," said Carter Phillips, a D.C. lawyer representing the Chamber of Commerce.
But Justice Antonin Scalia, whose comments seemed most forcefully to support the state, said Arizona was forced into adopting its own system because the federal government has failed to adequately police the hiring of illegal workers.
"I agree this step is massive, and one wouldn't have expected it to occur under this statute, but expectations change when the federal government has simply not enforced the immigration restrictions," he said.
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I think Justice Antonin Scalia said it best,
"Arizona was forced into adopting its own system because the federal government has failed to adequately police the hiring of illegal workers."
adding that also "the federal government has simply not enforced the immigration restrictions,"
And the Obama argument was only a what it thought might happen case, and was based on no true or known Facts !
And The U.S. Chamber of Commerce knew full well that's it's argument was flawed, because it was keenly aware of the Fact that Congress had left open the States "Right" to enforce licensing of businesses. And could punish them for knowingly hiring Illegals, which in essence is saying that a business that violates Federal Laws will not be allowed to operate a business in our State. Nothing wrong with that.
The simple truth is that the Federal Government believes the economy should come before enforcing the laws. If there is a lot of money to be made by particular groups of people who donate generously to political campaings the laws can go pound sand.
Adam....have you seen these links? The government is purposely ignoring their own immigration laws and siding with the illegals. They are deliberately preventing companies from requiring citizenship and suing those asking for proof. They are not making any efforts to curb the influx of illegals, and protect the sanctuary cities all over the United States.
Trusted Traveler Program Lets Mexicans Skip Airport Security
http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2010/dec/trusted-traveler-program-lets-mexicans-skip-airport-security
Audits: ICE isn't cracking down on illegal immigrant employers
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7180760.html
Obama Wants Supreme Court To Ax Ariz. Employer Sanction Law
http://www.facebook.com/notes/judicial-watch-inc/obama-wants-supreme-court-to-ax-ariz-employer-sanction-law/410974501560
Feds sue Maricopa colleges over green-card requests
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/article_7daebb16-1cfa-5c10-a0e1-f3a1dbef1680.html
City Creates Alternate Banking System For Illegal Aliens
http://www.facebook.com/notes/judicial-watch-inc/obama-wants-supreme-court-to-ax-ariz-employer-sanction-law/410974501560#!/notes/judicial-watch-inc/city-creates-alternate-banking-system-for-illegal-aliens/475277941560
JW Sues DHS for Documents on Illegal Alien Who Killed Virginia Nun in Drunk Driving Accident on August 1, 2010
http://www.facebook.com/notes/judicial-watch-inc/obama-wants-supreme-court-to-ax-ariz-employer-sanction-law/410974501560#!/notes/judicial-watch-inc/jw-sues-dhs-for-documents-on-illegal-alien-who-killed-virginia-nun-in-drunk-driv/476665996560
Hopefully the state wins out, and this statute helps crack down on businesses that hire illegal immigrants. Just another example why AZ is in such better financial shape than CA, whose liberal legislature would never pass a measure like this. If you want to see where liberal immigration policies and hand-outs for illegals will take the country, look at the failed state of CA as a preview.
I forget - which party does their governor belong to?
Support Arizona! Let the law stand; and also lets get aggressive on enforcement of lax immigration laws!
No amnesty, we only want ENFORCEMENT.
Attrition throguh enforcement is the best way to handle the illegal alien problem.
Allowing a state to regulate its own state issued business licenses? I don't know, that may have a rather negative effect on to illegal population. If an employer loses its ability to do business, it certainly will think twice about hiring illegals. Many, many will immediately be canned. Maybe some of the lower wage earning americans who need tax relief/2.5 years of unemployment benefits can benfit from their mis-fortune.
That's just not fair to the poor illegals and their kids. How they going to stay in school and get their Dream Act papers? The good new is they can head over to San Fransico or some other santuary city. But no happy meals for them. Not safe you know.
BRING THIS LAW TO FLORIDA!! Think of the jobs..no matter what they pay.. and the taxes, social security these businesses would finally have to pay if they want employees!! no more slave labor.. No more operating in the shadows of the LAW!! Its time these businesses, and there are plenty of them, pay the piper or be punished!!
While I'm fairly liberal on many issues, including immigration, I believe the SCOTUS got this decision correct. If you want to stem the tide of illegal immigration, make certain to not only penalize the immigrants but the employers who make money from them. Once access to job are cut off, then you'll see fewer want to cross the border. This may also have the side effect of getting the businesses to hire Americans, who can contribute more to the economy through income tax.
those pool illegals and their kids are criminals and should be sent back to where they came from. if they want to come back, do it the right way. once caught here illegally, you are not allowed to try for 10 yrs.
I agree with Michael L.; businesses that knowingly turn a blind eye to the status of their workers are not being good neighbors or citizens to their communities. To date, it's the undocumented worker who gets picked up and deported. Now the company that hired the worker stands to lose money and business. It's only fair.
Hope they do something like this Nationwide. All states take this up if it holds.
I am all for the Arizona law. Obviously the states will have to take the lead in controlling the illegals. Sure hope Tennessee has the guts to pass something of this nature.
Supreme court my foot...The law is the law!! how can it be interpreted along political lines???? They are just a bunch of political hacks. If justice was served all supreme court deecisions should be 9-0
Well said but shortly after the civil war the Supreme Court became the Federalists end all judgment system to destroy the states rights once and for all. One decision after another allowed the federal government to trample on the states rights and the 10th amendment. Around that same time the Supreme Court started interpreting corporations as living breathing citizens instead of the fictitious entities they are.
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Notice NOT to the Federal Government.
The Supreme Court has been integral in the transfer of powers from the states to the federal government against the Constitution. This is why they are "appointed" by the federal government who decides their pay, raises in that pay, benefits and pensions. Anytime a state is going against the federal government it is a kangaroo court. How can you choose, appoint and be in complete financial control of these people's lives and say they are impartial? The real ticker is how can you have a party affiliation and be impartial interpreting the letter of the law?
This is like a business owner having all his loyal employees on his jury instead of impartial citizens.
With their Governor Empty Head and Sheriff Joe, you have to figure that Arizona would keep trying until they could round up immigrants in a big bus and detain them. And the comment that says that Arizona is in better financial shape than California is INCORRECT. Arizona's government is broke. They keep furloughing workers and still have a large deficit. And Scalia, who makes a big show of being very pure in his interpretation of the constitution exactly like it was still 1789, sounds like a political hack when he says that the federal government has failed to enforce the law. The federal government has increased border agents and built a multi-billion dollar fence (which although a failure cannot be said to equal no effort). Scalia's relatives work in Republican political campaigns and he goes hunting with Cheney, but hey, he's no whore. Perish the thought.
Should I be the one to point out to BeyondDEMOCRAT that this particular bill was signed into law by your liberal heroine (or is it hero? gender is always in question on this one) Janet Napolitano?? So given your comment, the then-governor and now Secretary of Homeland Security is the "Empty Head" to which you refer??
Don't you just love it when some partisan hack jumps on a bandwagon with no knowledge of the facts?
The Federal Government has been fertilizing illegal immigration since at least the 1970's. You have to understand the Federal Government is a "for profit" corporation. If more illegals/anchors are on welfare it is a hiring boom for them with more management and administrative positions opening up. They extract more tax money or inflate the money supply to manage that "job". When illegals create more crime it is a hiring boom with more prisons to manage meaning more tax revenue extracted from the taxpayers.
You can see how everything regarding illegal aliens for the Federal Government is in direct contrast to those of the states and people. The states actually lose the jobs/taxes, get the crime and actually pay the additional Federal taxes. The Federal Government just collects more taxes, borrows more money and creates more jobs for themselves.
They pull their pay scales out of their arses and support whatever they please with deficit spending costing the taxpayers triple the principal in wages with the interest. Pay a Border Patrol agent $50K a year for 20 years that you have to borrow and it is $150K a year with 20 years of interest... not counting benefits and pension both borrowed with the same tripling interest. Keep him for 40 years of deficit spending and you paid him $300K a year. You can see federal manpower is certainly not the answer.
The Federal Government knows the key to controlling illegal immigration is hammering the employers hard the same as drug distribution for profits. It is racketeering, tax evasion, money laundering and a host of other crimes. Massive fines and confiscate some land, buildings, transportation vehicles, warehouses, machinery etc etc. Dry up the employment waterholes and all you have to do is direct traffic back down south handing out some bottled waters.
BeyondDEMOCRAT
And Scalia, who makes a big show of being very pure in his interpretation of the constitution exactly like it was still 1789, sounds like a political hack when he says that the federal government has failed to enforce the law. The federal government has increased border agents and built a multi-billion dollar fence (which although a failure cannot be said to equal no effort). Scalia's relatives work in Republican political campaigns and he goes hunting with Cheney, but hey, he's no whore. Perish the thought.
You'd think the Justice Scalia would be Smarter than the average 5th grader.
BeyondDEMOCRAT......"Governor Empty Head" ...That was a good one !!!.....NBC's Pete Williams Accidentally on purpose neglected to tell you about the Janet Napolitano signature on this Arizona Law. It just goes to show you how uniformed and misinformed the loony-left are. If it's Arizona and it's about illegal immigration, it must be Gov. Brewer and the Republicans so it must be bad.
When this law is found to be Constitutional, it will set the tone for when Arizona 1070 gets to the Supreme Court. That the State DOES have the right to enforce Federal Immigration Law, even if it is not the current Administrations Immigration POLICY.
Republicans have fought fining the employers of illegal aliens for 30 years stating that it woud put undue hardship on these employers to show proof that their employees were legally hired (In actuality Republican politicians own the business's or have close relations with these employers along our borders who hire illegals)
You present candidates that honestly believe people should barter for medical services with livestock, a constitutional fundamentalist that isnt aware that the first amendment calls for the separation of churchand state all the while being led by a fringe former vice president candidate that believes Alaska's proximity to Russia serves as foreign policy experience and is unaware that Africa is a continent - not a country.
And you call the left looney? I'll agree with that if you agree the right is just plain stupid. Whats worse? Crazy or just plain dumb?
And you call the left looney? I'll agree with that if you agree the right is just plain stupid. Whats worse? Crazy or just plain dumb?
I'd have to say "crazy" (as in "looney left) is worse. "Dumb" can be cured by educating yourself more.
"Crazy" is a medical condition. But then I've always thought liberalism was a mental disease.
Here we go with the blame game. So called "I" (racist word so I used the initial). There is a lot of money involved with our people from other places who arent supposed to be here. They were here for a reason, because greedy corporations and others wanted them to be here. They didn't make California weak, (we wrestle not against flesh and blood but in power and prinicipalites in high places). They pay taxes, like it or not, I dont think noone is gonna pay fair wages for Ameicans to work in the fields like a slave, or not even a sharecrooper. Cheap labor, prisons, law enforcements, they have help bring money to California. Now since the prison corporattion is a big big business....somebody has to fill those prisons up. It is a planned community....e.g. when homes are built in a new tract, it is because they anticipate growth and the homes are needed for the people....so enforce the so called illegal law, go after businesses that hire people who decided they would like to stay. Now I remember that ship that came from Jamestown and brought the hoodlums and ILLEGALS from England. They invaded America and with their greed they killled, lied and stole and now they make a law calling someone illegal? I am sick of illegal, sick of the sick citizens that dont think they shyt dont stink...its gonna get ugly. Stolen from Africa, brought to America.....fighting for survival.....well you know......this is God's land and we are his children so when they illegally brought their ILLEGAL arses over here, they think its okay. God created the heaven and earth and we are his chldren. So we all inherited this land. THE POT CAN"T CALL THE KETTLE BLACK! Take a look at the man/woman in the mirror...........