On May 26, 2011 the United States Supreme Court upheld the Legal Arizona Workers Act of 2007, which requires that every employer, after hiring an employee,  verify the employment eligibility of the employee through e-verify, a federal work authorization program. (Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America v. Whiting).  The 2007 law is not the Arizona immigration enforcement law that generated so much controversy last year.  The Supreme Court ruling establishes, however, that states can have a role in immigration matters.

The Arizona law authroizes state courts to suspend or revoke an employer’s business licenses if that employer knowingly or intentionally employs an unauthorized alien.  The employer can create a rebuttable presumption that it did not knowingly employ an unauthorized alien by showing it verified the employment status of the employee through the e-verify program.  The Arizona law was not in conflict with the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act, which allows states to combat employment of unauthorized workers through licensing and similar laws.  Therefore, the Arizona law was not preempted by federal law.

The Arizona law is very similar to the newly enacted immigration law in Georgia, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011.  This Georgia law requires that employers with 11 or more employees show proof that they utilize e-verify in order to obtain or renew a business license, occupational tax certificate or other document required to operate a business.

While the Supreme Court ruling should not be mistaken as a definitive answer to the main Arizona case, it is a sign that the states have a say in controlling illegal immigration.