In the spring, our blog reported on the story of a California man who graduated from law school, passed the bar exam, had his moral fitness application approved and who was otherwise set to embark on an exciting new career in law until one major complication arose. The complication? He doesn't have U.S. citizenship.
Now the California Supreme Court must decide whether he is eligible to practice law.
Sergio G. was brought by his parents from Mexico to the U.S. when he was only a baby. At the age of nine, he returned to Mexico with his parents and later came back with them to the U.S. at the age of 17.
He applied for legal residency when his father -- now a U.S. citizen -- sponsored him nearly 20 years ago. However, he has not yet received a response to his application. Experts indicate that he even though his application is currently on the waiting list for final approval, he will likely to have to wait another five to 15 years for it to be fully processed.
As a result, both his personal life and his professional life are now effectively on hold.
"This is a guy who has been waiting 18 years for a green card, got through undergrad and law school and paid his own way, the kind of person we want as a citizen and as a lawyer," said the attorney who is representing him in his bar admissions case.
As we discussed earlier, the case is likely to hinge on whether a 1996 federal law that prohibits undocumented immigrants from receiving any state benefits, including state-issued licenses, applies in this situation. However, it should be noted that this law does not apply where a state has since enacted its own laws allowing undocumented immigrants to secure state-issued licenses/benefits.
Here, the Supreme Court of California asked parties to submit written arguments explaining if this 1996 federal law is applicable and, if it is, whether California lawmakers have provided an exemption in the case of law licenses by July 17.
Not surprisingly, the court received multiple written briefs from immigrant advocacy groups, law professors and bar associations arguing that Sergio G. does indeed have the right to become an attorney under California law.
In addition to these supporters, Attorney General Kamala Harris also filed a brief calling Sergio G. "an example of the kind of self-sufficiency that Congress has stated should be a basic principle of immigration law."
Her brief went on to assert that admitting Sergio G. to the California bar "would be consistent with state and federal policy that encourages immigrants, both documented and undocumented, to contribute to society."
Thus far, no hearing has been scheduled for the case. However, the court is still waiting for a written argument from the Justice Department, which asked for an extension of August 1.
Stay tuned for further updates on this case from our Los Angeles County immigration law blog ...
This post was provided for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice. Names have been withheld to protect the identity of the parties.
Sources:
The San Francisco Chronicle, "Illegal immigrant gets Harris' support," Bob Egelko, July 19, 2012
The San Francisco Chronicle, "State high court on illegal practicing law," Bob Egelko, May 18, 2012
pierre garcon brown recluse spider wiz khalifa taylor allderdice eddie royal brandon marshall iditarod nfl free agents 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.