Washington DC - Today, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Secretary-Treasurer, Eliseo Medina released the following statement after the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Chamber et. al. v. Whiting, a challenge to Arizona's mandatory E-Verify law.

"Our broken immigration system is a national problem that needs a national solution. Arizona's mandatory E-Verify law is yet another costly and ineffective band-aid for an ailing system. A fifty state patchwork of regulations hurts communities, workers and is bad for business.

"The E-Verify program has been plagued with flaws and errors from the beginning. The Arizona government's reckless decision to make E-Verify mandatory has hurt the state's faltering economy and done nothing to fix the broken immigration system. "We hope the Supreme Court will recognize that Congress intended the federal government to govern immigration policy in this country. Fifty states acting alone cannot do it. We need a unified, national solution to our broken immigration system and we urge Congress to put an end to the confusion and desperation for clarity in the states. We need national immigration reform that replaces chaos with order, strengthens our economy and moves us forward together."

Background on Chamber et. al. v. Whiting: SEIU has supported Arizona immigrant rights' groups, the US Chamber of Commerce, civil rights organizations, immigrant rights groups and business organizations in challenging Arizona's law that requires all employers in Arizona to use the Federal voluntary E-verify system and imposes draconian penalties on employers that don't. "

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