Abstract
Part II of this note will explore the background of the issues involved in Chicanos Por La Causa by looking at them through the lens of federal immigration policy. This will include an in-depth assessment of IRCA, including the goals and policies that drove Congress to enact it. The discussion will then delve into the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 and the new employee verification system that accompanied it. Next, this note will examine federal-state cooperation under IRCA. The background will then conclude with a look at the Legal Arizona Workers Act. Part III of this note will analyze Chicanos Por La Causa v. Napolitano, including the facts, procedural history, issues raised, and the circuit court opinion. Part IV will analyze the circuit court’s decision and explain why it was correct. This will include a discussion of the burden the Act imposes on employers. It will also examine the decision’s repercussions for federalism in immigration, including a discussion of the legal and practical reasons for non-preemption. The analysis will then briefly examine Secretary Napolitano’s priorities as head of Homeland Security, and the new avenues for immigration reform that the Ninth Circuit’s decision potentially creates for her. The analysis will conclude with a look at the benefits of the court’s decision and the potential impact it will have on the present and future of immigration law in the United States. Part V concludes that this case is an important first step toward comprehensive reform of federal immigration law. It also concludes that there is a potential for even greater benefits from the court’s decision in the future.
Recommended Citation
Shelley Jr., Randall G.
(2010)
"If You Want Something Done Right . . .: Chicanos Por La Causa v. Napolitano and the Return of Federalism to Immigration Law,"
Akron Law Review: Vol. 43:
Iss.
2, Article 4.
Available at:
https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/akronlawreview/vol43/iss2/4