The U.S. Supreme Court justices seemed to be skeptical of the federal government's view during the April 25 oral arguments in a closely watched case, Arizona v. United States.

Although the case is limited to an examination of four provisions of an Arizona law granting state police broad powers to detain and arrest suspected illegal aliens, the ramifications of a ruling in favor of the state are broad, says Ana Avendaño, assistant to the president and director of immigration and community action at the AFL-CIO.

A ruling upholding the provisions would give employers greater ability to retaliate against workers who complain of not getting paid or other labor violations, she says.