DECISIONS

Supremes Back AZ Immigration Law

Revokes licenses of businesses that hire illegal immigrants.

Arizona has taken a lot of flak for its strict immigration laws, but it’s got at least five friends in Washington. The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a state law that revokes the business licenses for employers who hire illegal immigrants. An odd coalition of business groups like the Chamber of Commerce and civil-liberties groups including the ACLU argued that federal law should preempt the law, and that it could lead to discrimination against foreign-looking prospective hires, but Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority that there were adequate safeguards. "An employer acting in good faith need have no fear of the sanctions," he wrote. The vote broke along right-left lines, with the court’s five conservative justices defeating liberals Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor; Elena Kagan, who previously served as solicitor general, recused herself.