Brief Outlines Legal Argument Against Arizona's SB 1070
PHOENIX -- Business organizations in Arizona have filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in opposition to the state’s immigration law, SB 1070.
The Supreme Court will hear the case at the end of April.
One group represented in the brief is Arizona Employers For Immigration Reform, which argues that SB 1070 violates interstate commerce.
"It encourages immigrants to move to other states," the brief read. "It raises the price of produce by driving away migrant agriculture workers. It imposes costs on out of state businesses with operations in Arizona."
But the law also affects the economy because many migrants stayed in the Arizona, according to Todd Landfried, who represents two of the groups that filed the brief.
"Have some moved to other states? Of course," Landfried said. "But there are a lot of people who have stayed. We’ve pushed them into an underground cash economy."
Interested parties not directly involved with a case commonly file briefs with the Supreme Court before the case is heard. Supporters of Arizona's 2010 law have filed briefs of their own.
Those supporters say SB 1070 stems the expense of illegal immigrants using public services in Arizona, reduces crime, and does a job that the federal government has failed to do.
Both sides will argue their case in Washington, D.C., April 25.
