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09-115 Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America v. Whiting

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//May 26, 2011//

09-115 Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America v. Whiting

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//May 26, 2011//

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Immigration
Preemption

A state law requiring employers to verify the immigration status of job applicants is not preempted by federal law.  Arizona’s licensing law falls well within the confines of the authority Congress chose to leave to the States and therefore is not expressly preempted. While IRCA prohibits States from imposing “civil or criminal sanctions” on those who employ unauthorized aliens, it preserves state authority to impose sanctions “through licensing and similar laws.” §1324a(h)(2). That is what the Arizona law does—it instructs courts to suspend or revoke the business licenses of in-state employers that employ unauthorized aliens. The definition of “license” contained in the Arizona statute largely parrots the definition of “license” that Congress codified in the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

558 F.3d 856, affirmed.

09-115 Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America v. Whiting

Roberts, C.J.; Breyer, J., dissenting; Sotomayor, dissenting.

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