Should Undocumented Immigrants Be Allowed To Practice Law?

[Commodore]

Link to video

I am truly torn on this one. My kneejerk reaction says no they shouldn't be allowed to practice law until they at least get a work visa for the country in which they want to practice. On the other hand, if they pass the bar exam or equivalent test in other countries (as in the case of Sergio Garcia), then they have demonstrated sufficient knowledge of the law to be allowed to practice.

So what do you guys think? Should an undocumented immigrant be allowed to practice law in the nation in which they illegally reside?

 

[Archbob]

Laws in different countries vary differently so passing the bar in one country doesn't mean anything in another country. No, they should have at least a work visa to practice law.

 

[bhsup]

No.

/thread

 

[Commodore]

Laws in different countries vary differently so passing the bar in one country doesn't mean anything in another country. No, they should have at least a work visa to practice law.

Did you watch the video? Sergio Garcia passed the bar exam in California and practices law in California. He also earned his law degree in California. Thus he has demonstrated enough knowledge of federal and state law to practice law in California. It's not like he earned his law degree in Mexico and was asking to practice in the US.

 

[BvBPL]

It is doubly impressive when you consider he did all that while on the PGA tour.

 

[downtown]

If you can pass a state bar, you should automatically be awarded a work visa.

 

[JollyRoger]

Yes.

/thread

 

[Berzerker]

It is doubly impressive when you consider he did all that while on the PGA tour.

I just hope he asks questions faster than he plays golf

 

[Zelig]

Non-resident non-citizens should be allowed to practice law.

 

[GenMarshall]

No, get citizenship (or at least some sort of legal documentation like a worker's visa) or get out!

 

[Formaldehyde]

How is this thread any different than the one started 3 days ago?

 

[Gori the Grey]

It represents a three day maturing of everyone's thoughts on the issue.

(i.e. in before merge)

 

[Commodore]

How is this thread any different than the one started 3 days ago?

I didn't see it. But of course I only checked the front page to see if there was a similar thread.

 

[KMRblue1027]

If you can pass a state bar, you should automatically be awarded a work visa.

This. If he's smart and well educated enough to be fully qualified to practice law why the hell not?

 

[bhsup]

Non-resident non-citizens should be allowed to practice law.

That is not what this thread is asking. You could easily be a non-resident/non-citizen who comes here on a temporary visa for special circumstances or something to defend a client. I suspect.

This is about an illegal alien (the OP was being polite and using the less abrasive phrase "undocumented immigrant") whose every second of existence within the borders of the USA is a constant breaking of the law. Every moment he stands in a courtroom practicing, he is breaking the law. Every breath he takes, every move he makes...

 

[GenMarshall]

Every moment he stands in a courtroom practicing, he is breaking the law. Every breath he takes, every move he makes...

This. A smart thing this man should do is get a work visa at minumum. Right now, he's just a foreigner taking a job from American citizens, both natural born and naturalized.

This. If he's smart and well educated enough to be fully qualified to practice law why the hell not?

He has to go through the same legal process as any immigrant. Just having pass a bar exam does not grant him the right to a free pass to work and reside in this country.

 

[woody60707]

You would think if he knows the law so well that he would know that it's illegal for him to be in this country.

Should people breaking the law be allowed to practice law? Doesn't willingly breaking the law normally get you disbarred?

 

[Formaldehyde]

How many attorneys speed or jaywalk? Do you want them all disbarred?

How are you going to find out if they have committed any crimes? Waterboard them?

But there certainly is an easy way to eliminate this problem. Change the laws so that nobody can be deported without a legitimate reason. And that certainly doesn't include being a model resident.

 

[Traitorfish]

You would think if he knows the law so well that he would know that it's illegal for him to be in this country.

Should people breaking the law be allowed to practice law? Doesn't willingly breaking the law normally get you disbarred?

I don't know if that's actually true. Is it? That being in a country without legal permission is a crime? As I understand it, what it means is that the host country has the right to deport you without specific grounds. It's not really a criminal matter, otherwise undocumented migrants would be subject to criminal penalties, which I'm not given to understand is the case in the United States.

edit: I looked it up, and unlawful residence in the United States is not a criminal offence. Arizona vs. United States determined that the provisions of S.B.1070 which criminalised unlawful residence, seeking work without a visa and working without a visa, were pre-empted by federal legislation, which did not hold any of these to be criminal offences. So the term you're looking for here is "unlawful", not "illegal", the latter denoting prohibition but the former merely denoting a lack of authorisation.

 

[Tahuti]

Just abolish immigration restrictions so undocumented immigrants can be documented.

/thread