Supreme Court Bars Arizona, Other States From Criminalizing Alien Employment

The key takeaway for employers from the Supreme Court’s ruling yesterday on Arizona’s controversial Senate Bill (SB) 1070 law is that states cannot make criminals out of those in their jurisdiction who work or seek employment while unlawfully in the United States. The 5-3 decision, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, held that Congress already has “decided it would be inappropriate to impose criminal penalties on aliens who seek or engage in unauthorized employment.” Thus, Section 5 of SB 1070, the only provision dealing directly with the employment of undocumented aliens, will never go into effect.