I. R. O.
N.
IMMIGRATION REFORM FOR
P. O.
918-906-6027
10th Circuit Court
of Appeals Rules
in Favor of
HB1804
E-Verify mandate upheld Constitutional
IRON has worked for constructive
legislation for
As legal American workers return
to the 25,000 jobs now held by illegal aliens,
Carol
………………………………………………………………………….
It also
requires state contractors to check the immigration status of workers and
requires proof of citizenship for those applying for certain government
benefits.
(AP)
Oklahoma can
DENVER
— A federal appeals court panel ruled Tuesday that a portion of
In a divided opinion, a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver said that though the plaintiffs would
likely triumph with most of their claims, Oklahoma
can force employers to check employees names against a federal database of
workers eligible to work in this country.
The case will return to U.S.
District Court in Oklahoma
City for a judge to rule whether a permanent injunction against the law
should be issued, said Charlie
Price, a spokesman for Attorney
General Drew Edmondson.
Rep.
Randy Terrill, R-Moore, who authored the law, said he is leaning toward
recommending the state attorney general’s office ask for a rehearing before the
full 13-member 10th Circuit.
Another option is an appeal to the U.S.
Supreme Court, Terrill said.
Appeals court
ruling
Part of Tuesday’s ruling was a victory for the state,
which had appealed a decision by U.S.
District Judge Robin Cauthron in
Cauthron issued a preliminary injunction in June 2008
against the verification provision, which affects businesses that contract with
government entities.
On the other hand, the appeals court agreed with
Cauthron’s granting a preliminary injunction against two other provisions of the
law. The appeals court decision sided with various business interests —
including national, state and local chambers of commerce.
Saying the provisions are likely to be held
unconstitutional, the panel unanimously upheld the preliminary court orders
barring enforcement of these provisions:
• A prohibition against firing workers legally in
the country while retaining workers illegally in the country.
• A requirement that businesses working with private
contractors obtain documentation that workers are legal or, without
documentation, withhold taxes at the top rate.
"If forced to comply with the Oklahoma Act, the
Chamber’s members will face a significant risk of suffering financial harm,” the
judges concluded in barring enforcement of the provisions.
The
Reaction to
Tuesday’s ruling
The U.S.
Chamber of Commerce, which took the lead in the court battles, did not
immediately respond to a request for comment. Other organizations that sued to
stop enforcement of the employment provisions were the state chamber of
commerce, the
The
"Our attorneys are reviewing the ruling and preparing
for issues regarding a permanent injunction,” Price said.
Terrill said he is pleased the
panel upheld the section of the law that requires employers contracting with
government entities to use the federal E-Verify computer system to verify job
seekers’ eligibility.
"So what it signals is that I can now proceed with what would perhaps be the next step which is to simply remove the public contracting requirement and require all employers to use E-Verify to make sure that the people that they’re hiring are legal,” Terrill said.
CONTRIBUTING: STAFF WRITER MICHAEL MCNUTT, CORRESPONDENT
ROBERT E. BOCZKIEWICZ