California court lets undocumented immigrant practice law

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

BY DAN LEVINE
Thu Jan 2, 2014 2:04pm EST

(Reuters) - The California Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that an undocumented Mexican immigrant should be licensed to practice law in a closely watched case on immigration rights.

The unanimous ruling in favor of Sergio Garcia came after California legislators passed a bill last year that specifically authorized the high court to allow qualified applicants into the state bar, regardless of their immigration status.

The U.S. Department of Justice had opposed Garcia's application, while California Attorney General Kamala Harris supported it. Neither office could immediately comment on Thursday.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/02/us-usa-immigration-ruling-idUSBREA010RM20140102

[msanthrope]

1. There's an Orly Taitz joke in there....nt

[Shrike47]

2. Just saying Orly Taitz gets a laugh a my house.

[alp227]

3. A unanimous ruling from 6 Republican appointees and 1 Democrat.

Justice Goodwin Liu is the lone Democratic nominee. Liu was nominated by Governor Jerry Brown in 2011. The rest are appointees from Govs. Deukmejian, Wilson, and Schwarzenegger.

The NYT now has a report.

[alp227]

4. More coverage:

Al Jazeera America

Colorlines

San Diego Union-Tribune, which reports:

Garcia, 36, arrived in the U.S. as a teenager to pick almonds with his father, who was a permanent legal resident. His father filed a petition in 1994 seeking an immigration visa for his son. It was accepted in 1995, but because of the backlog of visa applications from people from Mexico, Garcia has never received a visa number.

He applied for citizenship in 1994 and is still working toward that goal.

San Francisco Chronicle

Los Angeles Times

Sucks how Garcia had to go through all this because of the federal government's failure to legalize him. Why couldn't the feds just grant him legal residency instead?

[hughee99]

5. Can anyone hire him?

Aren't there some laws on the books about hiring undocumented workers?