Justices back Arizona on worker status law

The state is appealing a ruling blocking that law from taking effect.

But others said it should not be read as a broad validation of such tactics. While they acknowledge that other states will now pass similar employer sanctions, they cautioned that the court did not make any sweeping endorsement of states’ rights to enforce federal immigration laws.

“It’s a very careful and narrowly reasoned opinion, so it doesn’t really tip the court’s hand one way or the other with respect to SB1070,’ said Peter Spiro, a Temple University law professor who specializes in immigration law. “That being said, the court here is validating a state measure that implicates immigration enforcement. The court today has rejected an argument that the states have no business in immigration enforcement. That’s off the table.’’

Arizona’s Senate president, Russell Pearce, a Republican who was a prime sponsor of the legislation that became the 2007 employer sanctions law, said his reaction to the ruling was “jubilation.’’

“This is not only good for Arizona, it’s good for America,’’ Pearce said. “Finally, American workers are treated the way they ought to be. We’re going to put the profits-before-patriotism crowd in the back seat.’’

Pearce said the ruling bodes well for an eventual Supreme Court decision on SB1070.

“I’m very confident we’ll win a 5-4 or possibly a 6-3 decision,’’ he said. “States have never been preempted from enforcing federal law.’’

Dozens of other states have taken up immigration-related measures since Arizona passed its first law. Most have gone nowhere, but several have passed laws similar to the one found constitutional yesterday.

Yesterday’s 5-3 ruling placed the court’s five Republican-appointed justices on the side of the state and against the Chamber of Commerce, which challenged the law along with the American Civil Liberties Union.

Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Sonia Sotomayor, all Democratic appointees, dissented. The fourth Democratic appointee, Justice Elena Kagan, did not participate in the case because she worked on it while serving as President Obama’s solicitor general.

The employer sanctions law has been infrequently used. It was intended to diminish Arizona’s role as the nation’s hub for immigrant smuggling by requiring employers to verify the eligibility of new workers through a federal database. Employers found to have violated the law can have their business licenses suspended or revoked.