The Supreme Court case 563 U.S.
582 is known as Chamber of Commerce v.
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Whiting, decided in 2011.
The case dealt with the constitutionality of an Arizona state law that required employers to use the E-Verify system to check the legal status of new hires.
The Chamber of Commerce argued that this Arizona law was preempted by federal immigration law, specifically the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA).
However, the Supreme Court upheld the Arizona law, ruling that it fell under the IRCA's "licensing" exception, which allowed states to impose licensing penalties on employers of unauthorized workers.
The Court found that the Arizona law was a valid exercise of the state's authority to regulate business licenses, rather than an impermissible regulation of immigration.
This was a 5-3 decision, with Justice Kagan recusing herself since she had previously worked on the case as Solicitor General.
The majority opinion, written by Chief Justice Roberts, emphasized that the Arizona law did not conflict with the federal government's authority over immigration policy.
The dissenting opinion, written by Justice Breyer, argued that the Arizona law was preempted because it went beyond a traditional licensing regime.
This case was seen as a victory for states' rights advocates, as it upheld a state's ability to impose sanctions on employers of unauthorized workers.
The ruling also reinforced the concept of "cooperative federalism" in the immigration context, where states and the federal government can work together on certain issues.
Legal experts noted that the decision could embolden other states to pass similar laws targeting unauthorized immigration through employer sanctions.