Should Undocumented Immigrants Be Allowed To Become Attorneys

[illram]

Cheap labor that has no rights so we can have continuing leverage to keep their labor costs low. And not being able to vote is a double bonus as they provide a perfect and risk free scapegoat during election seasons, except in specific counties and states.

This makes it extremely easy to play the double game of pretending to be outraged this is going on while reaping the lucrative economic rewards of exploiting cheap labor. Win win!

 

[NickyJ]

You guys have turned a blind eye to millions of illegal immigrants working millions of various jobs.. and it's this guy who gets turned away?

Who exactly do you want in your country? Uneducated immigrants or educated ones?

That's why I want our government to do more to crack down on illegal immigration.

Also, I have no problem with immigrants. It's the illegal ones that I do have a problem with.

 

[warpus]

Cheap labor that has no rights so we can have cheap food and cheap services, plus a large population that cannot vote and is therefore a perfect scapegoat during election seasons. Win win!

Yeah, that's the message you are sending to immigrants pretty much

If you're going to accept anyone illegally - it should be educated people like this guy, not pickle pickers.

 

[IAM]

No to him.

 

[Bugfatty300]

Since immigration is strictly a Federal prerogative, I don't believe there is anything set in stone that says he cannot practice law in Florida.

Typically .gov requires illegals to return to their "home" nations while their applications are processed. It's understandable why someone who has lived in the US their whole lives would be hesitant to move to a foreign country where they have no job, no possessions, no vehicle, no home and likely no immediate family either.

 

[BasketCase]

I'm a legal immigrant to USA and I had to work hard too.

This is the crux of it, right here. Glassmage did it the right way.

I don't object to undocumented immigrants being lawyers. I object to them being here.

 

[kochman]

So you can't be a lawyer if you speed?

I believe that speeding is not a federal crime. I see your point, but we have different levels of crime for precisely this reason.
To live every moment of every day illegally, it's hard to practice law. I speed, but I'm not speeding right now. If I get caught, I pay a fine... which leads to my second point...

There are a few states that allow you to become a lawyer if you have a felony on your record. CA is one of them I believe.

Oh, if you've served your time, you should absolutely be able to practice.

Let's be honest, there are plenty of crooked, law breaking lawyers out there anyhow... I suppose it wouldn't hurt... he should just go to a state that allows him to practice as an illegal. I personally think it is unethical... but, what can I do about it? I'm not a huge fan of lawyers to begin with.

Maybe he can be an immigration attorney?

 

[Bugfatty300]

I believe that speeding is not a federal crime. I see your point, but we have different levels of crime for precisely this reason.
To live every moment of every day illegally, it's hard to practice law. I speed, but I'm not speeding right now. If I get caught, I pay a fine... which leads to my second point...

Does breaking the law automatically become more egregious if it's Federal? Yeah on paper they're more serious but I mean opening junk mail sent to me by mistake is technically a federal crime. So is smoking a joint. And I don't believe immigration offenses are cumulative. It doesn't matter if you overstay your visa by a week or by 60 years. If this guy was breaking the law every second he has been in this country illegally then he could go to jail for thousands of years.

Edit: And speeding was a federal crime at one point right? 55 was the national limit.

 

[Core Imposter]

I believe this guy should get his license on the condition that he first prosecutes his parents for entering the US illegally and after getting a death sentence imposed he then should be awarded a citizenship for administering the lethal injection. Afterall, he was just a kid at the time.

 

[Cutlass]

That's why I want our government to do more to crack down on illegal immigration.

Also, I have no problem with immigrants. It's the illegal ones that I do have a problem with.

So even though they are here because of unofficial government policy, it's all their fault and they should be punished for doing what we want them to do?

 

[MobBoss]

Nope. AFAIK there is no way at present for the children of undocumented immigrants to ever become legal residents unless they were born here.

They can apply for it the same way any immigrant can. And fwiw, he could probably join the military as well, and even apply to have it expedited for his military service.

Maybe he can be an immigration attorney?

Best suggestion in the entire thread.

 

[Formaldehyde]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/us/15immig.html?pagewanted=all

Although the Pentagon has had wartime authority to recruit immigrants since shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, military officials have moved cautiously to lay the legal groundwork for the temporary immigrant program to avoid controversy within the ranks and among veterans over the prospect of large numbers of immigrants in the armed forces.

A preliminary Pentagon announcement of the program last year drew a stream of angry comments from officers and veterans on Military.com, a Web site they frequent.

Marty Justis, executive director of the national headquarters of the American Legion, the veterans’ organization, said that while the group opposes “any great influx of immigrants” to the United States, it would not object to recruiting temporary immigrants as long as they passed tough background checks. But he said the immigrants’ allegiance to the United States “must take precedence over and above any ties they may have with their native country.”

The military does not allow illegal immigrants to enlist, and that policy would not change, officers said. Recruiting officials pointed out that volunteers with temporary visas would have already passed a security screening and would have shown that they had no criminal record.

 

[Quackers]

You guys have turned a blind eye to millions of illegal immigrants working millions of various jobs.. and it's this guy who gets turned away?

Who exactly do you want in your country? Uneducated immigrants or educated ones?

..and the so-called left encourages the exploitation of cheap foreign labour? Pfft, minimum wages for Canadians but if your a Mexican or an American, it's down the pit 18 hours / day, 7 days a week, no social security. I'm surprised leftists aren't more outraged by this.

For the "uneducated" vs "educated" thing you put it quite insultingly. Sure an "educated" immigrant (i'll assume that means he/she owns a degree) will more likely have a positive effect on the economy then an "uneducated" immigrant, but you make it sound as if never going to uni or college makes you worthless.

Comment on actual thread: Let him get citizenship first and then give him his certificate to practice law. Punish his parents.

 

[ParkCungHee]

..and the so-called left encourages the exploitation of cheap foreign labour? Pfft, minimum wages for Canadians but if your a Mexican or an American, it's down the pit 18 hours / day, 7 days a week, no social security. I'm surprised leftists aren't more outraged by this.

I'm not. This is pretty standard behavior by anything but the far left.

 

[NickyJ]

So even though they are here because of unofficial government policy, it's all their fault and they should be punished for doing what we want them to do?

Actually, it is official. It's illegal to be an illegal immigrant. That's kinda why they're called illegal immigrants.

 

[Cutlass]

Actually, it is official. It's illegal to be an illegal immigrant. That's kinda why they're called illegal immigrants.

You seem to have missed my point: It was the policy of the US government from 1986 to 2006 to allow in foreign workers despite the immigration laws. And then once millions of these people started putting down roots here, we go and start to kick them out and blame them for all our problems. In other words our actions have been deeply unethical towards illegal immigrants. And innocents like this guy are paying the price for that.

 

[jtb1127]

Actually, it is official. It's illegal to be an illegal immigrant. That's kinda why they're called illegal immigrants.

Arguing for a law based on the fact that that law is a law makes no sense. You must state why that law matters for your point to be accepted.

Laws can be unjust. How many people today do you think would have Rosa Parks arrested for sitting at the front of the bus? And back to the first point, based on the value of "laws are laws" you think Rosa Parks should be thrown off the bus because law dictates that as proper procedure.

 

[NickyJ]

Arguing for a law based on the fact that that law is a law makes no sense. You must state why that law matters for your point to be accepted.

I was just responding to his claim that immigration laws are unofficial. I never said anything about why the law exists.

Laws can be unjust. How many people today do you think would have Rosa Parks arrested for sitting at the front of the bus? And back to the first point, based on the value of "laws are laws" you think Rosa Parks should be thrown off the bus because law dictates that as proper procedure.

The point behind this law is because companies can use illegal immigrants for cheap labor. The stories are out there. Companies want to pay low wages, and they'll hire illegal immigrants to low paying jobs that no legal worker would do for such low wages. The illegals can't complain because they'll be found, so nobody does anything about it. And while the companies get their work done for little to know cost, the average person is out of a job because an illegal is doing it.

If there were no illegals, the companies wouldn't be paying such low wages because they wouldn't have anybody to work for them. In that case, they'd raise the pay, and legal workers would then do the job.

 

[kochman]

Does breaking the law automatically become more egregious if it's Federal? Yeah on paper they're more serious but I mean opening junk mail sent to me by mistake is technically a federal crime. So is smoking a joint. And I don't believe immigration offenses are cumulative. It doesn't matter if you overstay your visa by a week or by 60 years. If this guy was breaking the law every second he has been in this country illegally then he could go to jail for thousands of years.

Edit: And speeding was a federal crime at one point right? 55 was the national limit.

If he got caught, didn't fix his status, and got caught again, he would be punished twice.
You can't just rack of offending days and hold that against a person though... not cumulative... that is irrelevant when considering his ethics and hold they uphold to debating and practicing law.

 

[illram]

Being undocumented is not technically a "crime." Presence in the United States without authorization is a civil violation... if that changes the ethics of the situation for you. Might not.