It just got tougher to hire an undocumented worker in Arizona. The state has enacted some of the toughest penalties towards business owners who hire immigrants without papers, among them the loss of their very livelihood:

In the wake of the federal government’s failure to reform immigration laws, Arizona joins the more than 100 states and municipalities that have taken matters into their own hands in hopes of stemming the tide of illegal immigrants. But Arizona’s law is by far the harshest toward business. A company caught knowingly employing an undocumented worker has its license suspended for up to ten days. Get caught a second time, and a company loses its license to operate altogether–what Governor Janet Napolitano has called the “business death penalty.”

Check out the whole article on Business Week, as the Arizona Chamber of Commerce is expressing concern over the impact this will have on the state’s economy. I predict one of two things: corruption ensues in government when business owners try get around the penalties or Arizona’s economy tanks. That state cannot live without undocumented immigrant labor.

Via / Business Week