Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al., Petitioners v. Michael B. Whiting et al (563 U.S. 582)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 26, 2011 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 563 U.S. 582 · 131 S. Ct. 1968
- Decided
- May 26, 2011
- Term
- October Term 2010
- Vote
- 5–3
- Majority author
- Justice Roberts
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the Court, except as to Parts II-B and III-B. Federal immigration law expressly preempts “any State or local law imposing civil or criminal sanctions (other than through licensing and similar laws) upon those who employ . . . unauthorized aliens.” 8 U. S. C. § 1324a(h)(2). A recently enacted Arizona statute — the Legal Arizona Workers Act — provides that the licenses of state employers that knowingly or intentionally employ unauthorized aliens may be, and in certain circumstances must be, suspended or revoked. The law also requires that all Arizona employers use a federal electronic verification system to confirm that the workers they employ are legally authorized workers. The question presented is whether federal immigration law preempts those provisions of Arizona law. Because we conclude that the State’s licensing provisions fall squarely within the federal statute’s saving clause and that the Arizona regulation does not otherwise conflict with federal law, we hold that the Arizona law is not preempted. I A In 1952, Congress enacted the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 66 Stat. 163, as amended, 8 U.S.C. §1101 et seq. That statute established a “comprehensive federal statutory scheme for regulation of immigration and naturalization” and set “the terms and conditions of admission to the country and the subsequent treatment…
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