On Saturday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed eight bills into law to increase the rights of immigrants. One of the laws allows illegal immigrants to obtain a license to practice law in California. This presumably ends the Sergio Garcia saga, and now the California Supreme Court is authorized to approve qualified applicants for the practice of law in the state, regardless of their immigration status.
This means illegal immigrant law students get a chance to practice law.
Brown said in a statement, “While Washington waffles on immigration, California’s forging ahead … I’m not waiting.”
With 38 percent of California’s voter population being of Hispanic descent, the push to enhance and protect the rights of illegal immigrants has greater priority in California than in other states. A recent study by the University of Southern California has found that at least 2.6 million people, largely of Hispanic descent, lack legal residence status in the state.
Last Thursday, Brown had signed another law that allows illegal immigrants in California to have driver’s licenses. The state expects at least 1.4 million people to apply for driving licenses as a consequence of the new law.
Assemblyman Luis Alejo said, “The bills that were signed by the governor today show that California is bucking the trend that we’ve seen in other states over the last few years.” He opined, like Brown, that California is doing what it can for illegal immigrants at the state level, as immigration reform at the federal level is happening too slowly.
Though, one may assume that Sergio Garcia, the illegal immigrant who had passed the California bar and had been held up at the California Supreme Court, will now be able to practice, things may not be so smooth for similar applicants in New York and Florida.
California Governor’s flag Image source: Wikimedia Commons