Bipartisan Support for U.S. Chamber's Challenge to Oklahoma Immigration Law

28 Labor, Civil Rights, and Business Groups Rally Around Lawsuit

WASHINGTON, D.C.— As of today, 28 different organizations representing businesses, civil rights groups, and labor interests have filed amicus briefs in support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's challenge to the employment-related provisions of an Oklahoma immigration law currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

"The emerging patchwork of conflicting state immigration laws is creating a national crisis," said Robin Conrad, executive vice president of the National Chamber Litigation Center (NCLC), the U.S. Chamber's public policy law firm. "The widespread bipartisan support for our lawsuit shows that both sides can agree on at least one thing: It's not the role of the states to set national immigration policy."

In amicus briefs filed in Chamber of Commerce, et al. v. Edmondson, the groups expressed their agreement with the U.S. Chamber that Oklahoma's law requiring employers doing business with the state to use a voluntary federal worker verification system violates federal law.

The law, which imposes tax penalties on any employer who fails to use the "E-Verify" pilot program, also creates a new type of discrimination lawsuit. Any employer who retains a worker that the employer "should have known" is unauthorized can be sued for discrimination by authorized workers.

The 28 different organizations supporting the U.S. Chamber's position include the American Civil Liberties Union, Change to Win, various civil rights groups, business groups and thirteen state chambers of commerce. For copies of the briefs and for a complete list of the organizations supporting the U.S. Chamber, please visit http://www.uschamber.com/nclc/081027_pr.htm.

NCLC is the public policy law firm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that advocates fair treatment of business in the courts and before regulatory agencies.

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

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