Amidst the rhetoric over Arizona’s three-week old employer sanctions law, it appears the reality of the situation is that it’s not causing much of a stir, at least outside of Maricopa County.
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Meanwhile, U.S. District Court Judge Neil Wake heard full arguments Jan. 16 in a lawsuit filed by business groups challenging the law.
The Arizona Republic reported that while Maricopa County law enforcement says it has received 500 complaints of businesses hiring illegal immigrants, the Pima County Attorney’s office reported it had received only one complaint. Further, 10 of the state’s 15 county attorneys reported they had not received a single complaint.
Some of the difference may lie in the way the county attorneys offices are accepting complaints. The Maricopa County Attorney’s office is accepting anonymous complaints but the Pima County’s Attorney’s office is not.
That is one point business groups say needs to be addressed in the law. Businesses say allowing anonymous complaints makes them vulnerable to complaints from competitors.
Wake is expected to make his decision on the legality of the law by the end of the month. Whichever way he rules, though, legal experts are predicting it will be challenged and is the kind of law that could be taken all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Under the law, businesses are required to use the federal government’s database, called E-Verify, to confirm the legal status of employees. As of last week, 14,707 of Arizona’s approximately 150,000 businesses had signed up for the program.
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