June 12, 2008                                            Contact: Sheldon Gilbert

Chamber Says Arizona Immigration Law Unconstitutional
Unfairly Punishes Businesses

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Chamber of Commerce today urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to strike down an Arizona employer-related immigration law. The court heard oral argument in Arizona Contractor's Association, et al. v. Candelaria, et al, a lawsuit initiated by the Chamber in conjunction with other trade association to challenge the constitutionality of the immigration law. 

"Conflicting state and local immigration laws are overwhelming American businesses," said Robin Conrad, executive vice president of the National Chamber Litigation Center, which represents the U.S. Chamber in the case. "The Arizona statute is yet another heavy-handed attempt to force businesses to use an experimental test program that even the Department of Homeland Security said is riddled with errors."

Last year alone, 45 states considered about 1,400 employer-related immigration bills and enacted more than 240 of them into law, according the Chamber. The Arizona law upheld by the district court requires businesses to comply with the federal E-Verify pilot program to electronically verify employment eligibility. Businesses that fail to comply with the program or that "intentionally or knowingly" employ unauthorized workers are subject to heavy sanctions.

The Chamber argued that Arizona's mandatory compliance with E-Verify violates the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act that requires the program to be voluntary. The Chamber added that the Arizona law is unconstitutional because businesses are not given an opportunity for a hearing before being subject to sanctions.

"We hope the Ninth Circuit sees the same problems with the Arizona law as other courts have recently identified with similar laws," said Conrad.

Conrad pointed out that a federal court struck down a similar law in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, as unconstitutional, and last week a federal judge in Oklahoma City issued a preliminary injunction against enforcement of a comparable Oklahoma law.

The National Chamber Litigation Center, the Chamber's public policy law firm, is a membership organization that advocates fair treatment of business in the courts and before regulatory agencies. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

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