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The U.S. Supreme Court has asked the Solicitor General to submit a brief outlining the Obama administration’s stance on an Arizona law that punishes companies for hiring illegal immigrants, the Miami Herald reports. The justices will review this brief before deciding whether to hear a challenge to the law.
The law, enacted in 2006, allows private complaints to be filed against companies. Any company found to have “knowingly or intentionally” hired illegal immigrants can have its business license suspended or revoked.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, along with other corporate, labor and immigrant groups, is challenging the Arizona law, claiming that it interferes with Congress’s ability to set immigration policy. The Immigration Reform and Control Act explicitly preempts state action on immigration, except for regulations regarding business licensing. Although the Arizona law has yet to be executed, opponents argue that enforcement would violate federal law.
A Supreme Court ruling on the case could have a broad impact on immigration legislation: In the first three months of 2009, state and local governments introduced more than 1,000 immigration-related bills, 150 of which are specifically related to employment.