Arizona Law Upheld — Appeal Forthcoming

It iis no big surprise given that the district court previously denied a TRO in the case but a federal judge yesterday upheld the new Arizona law that mandates the closure of businesses that knowingly hire undocumented immigrants. Judge Neil Wake rejected the arguments of business and immigrant-rights groups, which sued saying the law was prempted by federal immigration law. For the L.A. Times story on the ruling, click here.

Here is a copy of the decision.  Download Valle.Decision.2.7.08.pdf   Expect an appeal to the Ninth Circuit!

UPDATE  The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Arizona, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) have announced that they will appeal the district court’s ruling to the Ninth Circuit.  Lawyers on the case include Omar Jadwat, Lucas Guttentag and Jennifer C. Chang of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project; Daniel Pochoda of the ACLU of Arizona; Jonathan Weissglass, Stephen Berzon and Rebecca Smullin of Altshuler Berzon LLP; Kristina Campbell and Cynthia Valenzuela of MALDEF; and Joaquin, Monica T. Guizar and Karen C. Tumlin of NILC.

As the N.Y. Times observes, courts have recently upheld state or local immigration laws in Arizona, Missouri, and Oklahoma.  Is the tide turning?  Stay tuned.

KJ