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Arizona Immigration Law, Employer Sanctions Upheld

By Admin on September 18, 2008 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

A federal appeals court has upheld the 2007 Legal Arizona Workers Act, which sanctions employers and businesses that willfully hire illegal aliens. A number of civil rights organizations and Arizona business groups had challenged the law, which allows the state to revoke the business licenses of employers who are in violation.

In Wednesday's decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit turned away the challenge, holding that 1) the Arizona law did not overstep federal immigration authority, and 2) the law satisfies constitutional due process requirements because employers are allowed to present evidence to "rebut the presumption" of an employee's illegal status -- giving businesses a "meaningful opportunity to be heard before sanctions are imposed."

The Associated Press reports that the "court left the door open for other challenges, saying no one has been accused of violating the law since it took effect nine months ago."

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