Undocumented immigrants in California can now practice law. The California Supreme Court ruled that the undocumented immigrants in the state can apply for law licenses and legally practice law.
This ruling is favorable to Sergio Garcia, an undocumented immigrant who passed the state bar exam. Though he is not a U.S. citizen, he can now practice law.
Sergio Garcia who has lived as an undocumented immigrant in the U.S. for more than 20 years, has now received his law license. This ruling will help several other immigrants who are out of status and who seek to practice law in the state.
The Supreme Court determined that there is no reason to deny him a law license and this law took effect last week. According to the Supreme Court’s ruling, undocumented immigrants like Garcia can get law licenses. Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye wrote that there is no state law that would prevent undocumented immigrants from getting law licenses in California. But there are some questions that remain unresolved. The ruling has not made it clear whether the immigrants in California who receive licenses to practice law in the state can appear in federal courts in other American states. Likewise, U.S. immigration laws prevent law firms from hiring undocumented immigrants.
Garcia is a law school graduate who has passed the state bar exam. Garcia came to the U.S. with his father who was a green card holder. Though Garcia’s father filed an immigrant petition for him in 1994, Garcia did not receive a visa number due to the backlog of immigrant petitions from people from Mexico. He has waited for his green card for more than a decade.
This decision opens doors to many deserving immigrants like Garcia. This ruling is also likely to influence other American states. This ruling is a victory for the people who are living in the U.S. illegally. Garcia believes that this decision will benefit several other immigrants in the same situation.