That’s what Sarah Palin said last night, and has been saying for some time now, as have state legislators around the country. What they’re referring to, of course, is Arizona’s new law (which has yet to go into effect) requiring cops to check legal status under some circumstances.

I’m all for that, obviously. But it’s at least as important that states (and the feds) “emulate” Arizona’s earlier immigration law, passed in 2007, which requires all businesses in the state to use E-Verify when hiring. Ending sanctuary cities, which is the real upshot of the new law, is all well and good; but reducing the appeal of illegal immigration in the first place by turning off the magnet of jobs addresses the problem at its root. If you’re pushing something like the new Arizona law, but not also pushing E-Verify legislation (or at least something addressing the jobs issue, like Rep. Steve King’s idea of retroactively revoking the deductibility of wages paid to illegals), then you’re simply not serious about reducing illegal immigration.

What I fear is that the new Arizona law will become a political totem, like building the fence or cutting off welfare for illegals, which will serve as a way for politicians to be tough on immigration without ticking off the Chamber of Commerce by actually addressing the core of the problem. I’m not accusing Palin of this; I actually have no idea what she thinks about immigration, mainly because this is the first strong stand she seems to have taken on the matter. And there are state legislators all over the nation who have championed E-Verify requirements, with varying degrees of success. But genuine immigration hawks need to be alert to the possibility that there will be politicians who will want to ride the concern over illegal immigration without confronting the powerful interests that benefit from it.