Election 2008: What’s At Stake?

Arizona’s State Capitol (AP Photo)

A federal appeals court upheld Arizona’s employer sanctions law last week, ruling that it was not intruding upon Federal jurisdiction.

The law was sponsored in Arizona’s legislature by State Rep. Russell Pearce (R-Mesa), who is running a heated campaign for State Senate this year. Pearce considers himself a crusader against illegal immigration in a state that has seen raging battles over the issue in recent years. Chief among them was the fight over 2004’s Proposition 200, a law mandating proof of citizenship to register to vote. That law, covered by News 21 this past summer, was also recently upheld in court.

The law’s success could bolster the hopes of other states and municipalities with their own employer sanctions laws, like Oklahoma and Hazleton, Pa. So far the coalition of businesses and civil rights groups that challenged the law have not announced whether they will take their case to the Supreme Court.