Supreme Court upholds Arizona employer sanctions law

SCOTUS beotch slaps the ninth circuit. One would think this would be a no-brainer but then again, 4 Supreme Court justices are quite similar in temperament to the ninth.

Under Arizona's 2007, Legal Arizona Workers Act, commonly called the employer-sanctions law, a business' license can be revoked or suspended for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. The law also requires Arizona employers to use a federal electronic system, called E-Verify, that validates the Social Security numbers and immigration status of new hires.

The ruling comes months after Arizona appealed a federal court ruling that blocked key components of a second, more controversial Arizona immigration enforcement law, known as SB 1070.

That law makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally. A federal judge has blocked parts of SB 1070 from taking effect, and debate over its constitutionality is expected to reach the Supreme Court.

In Thursday's 5-3 decision, the justices ruled that the employer-sanctions law falls within existing federal law and within the Arizona's authority to license business.