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PHOENIX (AP) -- A federal judge on Thursday upheld an Arizona law that prohibits businesses from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants and rescinds the business licenses of those that do.

The ruling by the judge, Neil V. Wake of Federal District Court, was a defeat for employers who argued that it was an unconstitutional effort by a state to regulate immigration.

The ruling was a victory for advocates of tougher immigration enforcement who reject the position that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility.

Judge Wake rejected arguments by business groups that federal immigration law severely restricted Arizona's ability to punish people who knowingly employed illegal immigrants.

He concluded that the Arizona law did not conflict with federal immigration law, which he said specifically let states regulate business licensing.

The issue of the law's legality is pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit because the business groups challenging it have appealed an earlier order by Jude Wake in another case. The challengers are expected to challenge the new ruling, too.

The Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat, approved the law last year amid frustration over what they said were inadequate federal efforts to confront illegal immigration.