6/8/2011
The May 26 decision of the Supreme Court, which upheld the right of the state of Arizona to require employers to use the controversial e-Verify system to determine the legal status of the worker, is being criticized by advocates on immigrants’ rights and employers.
The ruling also allowed the state to pursue its so-called “business death penalty,” which involves denying the granting of a business license to employers who were found guilty more than once of violating a 2007 law that prohibits the hiring of undocumented workers.
The e-Verify system has been the subject of criticisms because of its glaring errors, which included flagging as undocumented several legal and native-born residents.
The Supreme Court ruling was the result of a case filed by the Chamber of Commerce against Arizona’s law.
Immigrants’ rights groups have been joining forces with employers in voicing out their opposition to the mandatory use of e-Verify. They pointed out that the guest worker program and the immigration system of the nation are so badly broken that agricultural growers will not be able to find the needed workers especially during harvest time if they are prohibited from hiring undocumented workers.
Lynn Tramonte, the deputy director America’s Voice Education Fund, in a press release, said, “Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling is a dagger in the heart of Arizona agriculture. If this type of law spreads nationwide, we will essentially deport the entire agriculture industry—including jobs held by Americans—and be forced to import more of our nation’s food supply.”
