St. Louis suburb’s immigration law upheld
Posted: 05 Jun 2009 11:04 PM PDT

ST. LOUIS | A federal appeals panel has upheld a suburban St. Louis town’s ordinance prohibiting the hiring of illegal immigrants, a case that some observers believe could have national implications.

A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday unanimously affirmed a lower court’s ruling in favor of the city of Valley Park.
Similar cases have been heard around the country. Last year, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an Arizona state law that also bars the hiring of illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia is weighing a similar case out of Hazleton, Pa.

“The Valley Park case is being cited around the country,” said Kris Kobach, a University of Missouri-Kansas City law professor who represented Valley Park and also argued on behalf of the Hazleton law. “This decision has nationwide consequences.”

The Missouri case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Jacqueline Gray, a Valley Park landlord who hires people for odd jobs and maintenance.

[My guess is that this will be what an increasingly activist, left-liberal Supreme Court can be expected to overturn.]