Update on 12-16-07 post entitled "Arizona has become a laboratory for bills and policies to crack down on illegal immigration."

Fenced Out: A section of the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border

A 12-16-07 post noted:

Arizona businesses are firing Hispanic immigrants, moving operations to Mexico and freezing expansion plans ahead of a new law that cracks down on employers who hire undocumented workers [and that is set to take effect on Jan. 1].

Arizona's law, believed to be the strictest in the nation, is shaping up as a test of how employers will react when faced with real sanctions for hiring undocumented labor. It is being closely watched by businesses across the country. While proponents say the crackdown will save the state money on services for illegal immigrants, some businesspeople fear Arizona's economic growth may be at risk.

The law still faces a court challenge from the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and other business groups.

In one sense, the bill is having its desired impact: Employers are rushing to ensure they don't have undocumented workers.

Arizona has become a laboratory for bills and policies to crack down on illegal immigration. In 2004, it passed a proposal to prevent illegal immigrants from using state services, such as adult education and nonemergency health care. Earlier this month, a ballot initiative was introduced to deny U.S. citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants born in Arizona, which critics say is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

According to Newsweek, a lawsuit filed in federal court by foes of the new law (immigrant rights activists and representatives of the construction, agriculture, hospitality and manufacturing industries, which employ large numbers of unskilled immigrant laborers) that questioned the law's constitutionality has been dismissed, and on December 21 the U.S. District Court in Phoenix cleared the way for the law to take effect on New Year's Day. Also, critics of the law received another blow recently when the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco refused to grant an injunction aimed at preventing the law from taking effect.

Arizona is particularly hard-hit by illegal immigration woes because its nearly 400-mile border with Mexico is the preferred gateway for most immigrants traveling north.

Gov. Janet Napolitano, a moderate Democrat, signed the law last July after Congress had failed to reform federal immigration policy. Napolitano says sanctioning employers who hire illegal immigrants is part of an overall strategy to fix a problem the feds have long ignored. "Without the federal government taking action, the states must move ahead," she told Newsweek. "If Arizona is a laboratory for democracy, then so be it."

This Newsweek article also notes:

It's proving to be a difficult time for Latinos in Arizona. It didn't help that Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon recently shocked the Latino community by appointing a panel to explore whether the Phoenix police should regularly check for immigration status. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has arrested nearly 1,400 undocumented immigrants, with the blessing of County Attorney Andrew Thomas. Arpaio relies on state laws that outlaw human smuggling and federal laws that allow officers to check citizenship or residency status in the course of their duties, for instance a routine traffic stop. "We don't arrest randomly," says Lisa Allen, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office. But immigrants fear they may be deported if they have even one traffic violation. And now the employer sanctions law looms.

In the near future, safe havens in other states may be hard to find. Arizona's law is viewed as a test case by other states, "trying to create order inside of chaos" caused by federal inaction, says Sheri Steisel, director of the immigration task force for the National Conference of State Legislatures. Steisel says state legislatures passed at least 244 laws related to immigrants and immigration in 2007, a three-fold increase over 2006. Although Arizona's new law imposes the toughest sanctions on employers, 19 other states passed measures related to employment of undocumented immigrants. Oklahoma now makes it a felony to harbor, transport or shelter illegal immigrants and, like Arizona, requires employers to verify immigration status through online databases.