ABC News - The Note - Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Immigration Law

ABC News' Ariane de Vogue reports: The Supreme Court today upheld a strict Arizona law that sanctions employers for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.

The Obama administration, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of immigrants’ rights groups had argued that the law, called the Legal Arizona Workers Act,  interferes with existing federal law.

But Chief Justice John Roberts writing for a 5-3 Court said that Congress had “preserved the ability of the states to impose their own sanctions”  in an effort to control illegal immigration.

“Arizona’s procedures simply implement the sanctions that Congress expressly allowed Arizona to pursue through licensing laws,” Roberts wrote. “Given that Congress specifically preserved such authority for the States, it stands to reason that Congress did not intend to prevent the States from using appropriate tools to exercise that authority.”
. . .

. . . . Supporters of the law say it is a part of a larger trend where states are getting strict on immigration reform because they feel the federal government is failing to do its job.

"The Supreme Court decision provides a realistic roadmap for states to take appropriate action in enacting legislation that is constitutional,” said Jay Sekulow of the conservative American Center for Law and Justice.

“It's clear that states can take action that compliments federal immigration law without violating it. The decision affirms that the Arizona law represents a valid and constitutional exercise of Arizona's police powers, " he said. . . .

You can read the entire story here.