New York Times - Illegal Workers: Court Upholds Faulting Hirers

By Adam Liptak

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld an Arizona law that imposes harsh penalties on businesses that hire illegal immigrants.

The 5-to-3 decision appeared to endorse vigorous state efforts to punish employers who intentionally hire illegal workers. The majority opinion, written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts on behalf of the court’s five more conservative members, said that Colorado, Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia had recently enacted laws similar to the one at issue in the case.

The decision did not directly address a more recent Arizona law that gives the police greater authority to check the immigration status of people they stop. . . .

. . . . Jay Sekulow, a lawyer with the American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative public interest law firm that filed a brief urging the court to uphold the law, said the ruling was “a victory for Arizona and other states” that “provides a realistic roadmap” for enacting legislation that does not run afoul of the federal law. . . .

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