Dean Johnson Comments on Supreme Court Immigration Ruling for CSM
Dean Kevin R. Johnson commented for the Christian Science Monitor on an upcoming Supreme Court case involving an Arizona law that sanctions businesses that knowingly hire undocumented immigrants. The case, Chamber of the Commerce of the United States v. Candelaria, will mark the first time in recent years that the Court has ruled on the constitutionality of state laws regulating immigration.
"This is potentially the biggest immigration ruling of the past 30 years," said Dean Johnson. "Over the past few years, there have been hosts of states and localities attempting to regulate immigration, from Texas to Pennsylvania to Arizona to New Jersey, and this will likely tell us what if any power these states have to make these laws." The Court's decision in this case may affect the legal challenges currently pending to another Arizona immigration law, SB 1070, which has generated a firestorm of controversy in the last few months.
Kevin R. Johnson is Dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o studies at UC Davis School of Law. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.