Supreme Court Upholds Arizona E-Verify Law that Florida Couldn't Pass

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld an Arizona E-Verify immigration law that Florida's lawmakers couldn't pass.

The Arizona law permits the state to revoke the business licenses of companies that knowingly hire illegal workers. It requires employers to use an otherwise optional federal verification program, known as the E-Verify system, which collects data on workers from the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security.

The court split 5-3, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing the decision and Elena Kagan, a former U.S. solicitor general for the Obama administration, recusing herself.

A watered-down E-Verify bill cleared the Florida Senate but died in the House this session. As with the Arizona law, the Chamber of Commerce opposed the Florida legislation. But while the Florida Chamber prevailed in Tallahassee, the U.S. Chamber's legal challenge to Arizona's law failed at the nation's highest court.

Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty was among the first to hail the decision.

I applaud the United States Supreme Court in upholding Arizonas right to do what the federal government has failed to do and confront the problem of illegal immigration," the former Minnesota governor said.

"President Obama broke his promise to address illegal immigration, leaving states and businesses in an untenable situation."