BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | ACR 167|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: ACR 167
Author: Alejo (D), et al.
Amended: 8/14/12 in Assembly
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-24, 8/20/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : California State Bar admission
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution declares that an applicants
immigration status should not be the determining factor in
deciding whether to approve a license to practice law,
commends Sergio C. Garcia for his hard work and success,
and also commends the State Bar of California for its
efforts to admit Sergio C. Garcia to the State Bar of
California.
ANALYSIS : This resolution makes the following
legislative findings:
1. Sergio C. Garcia was born in Villa Jimenez, Mexico, in
1977, and was reportedly first brought into the United
States by his parents, without inspection by immigration
officials, when he was 17 months old, and, after leaving
the United States around the age of eight or nine,
entered the Unites States again when he was 17 years
old.
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2. Sergio C. Garcia's father, who was a lawful permanent
resident at the time, and who has since gained full
citizenship status, filed a petition for an immigrant
visa for his son on November 18, 1994, which was
approved in January of 1995.
3. In the past 17 years, while waiting for his visa to
become available, Sergio C. Garcia, in an undocumented
status, went to college, attended law school, and passed
the California Bar Examination.
4. The Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of
California, having reviewed Sergio C. Garcia's
application, found that Mr. Garcia met all of the
necessary requirements for admission to the State Bar of
California, and, on November 9, 2011, based on that
conclusion, submitted Mr. Garcia's name, on motion to
the California Supreme Court, as an applicant certified
for attorney licensure.
5. On May 16, 2012, the California Supreme Court issued an
Order to Show Cause to the Committee of Bar Examiners as
to why its pending motion for the admission of Sergio C.
Garcia to the State Bar of California should be granted.
6. With the passage of the California DREAM Act, which
allows certain youth without proper immigration
documentation to apply for financial aid, California has
moved toward a policy of inclusion rather than exclusion
of undocumented immigrants brought into the United
States by their parents as children, regardless of their
authorization to work.
7. Developing federal executive policy echoes this policy
of inclusion. On June 15, 2012, the Secretary of the
Department of Homeland Security released a memorandum,
"Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to
Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children,"
establishing a policy of deferring removal proceedings
for eligible undocumented students at the discretion of
the Department of Homeland Security and allowing
eligible undocumented students to apply for work
permits. The Secretary's memorandum stresses that the
United States immigration laws were not designed to
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remove productive young people who have contributed to
our country in significant ways to countries they may
not even be familiar with.
8. The Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, commends Sergio C. Garcia for his
hard work and success in satisfying all state
requirements for admission to the State Bar of
California.
9. The Legislature believes an applicant's immigration
status should not be the determining factor in deciding
whether to approve a State Bar law license in
California.
10.The Legislature commends the State Bar of California for
its thorough review of Sergio C. Garcia's application,
its motion for Sergio C. Garcia's admission to the State
Bar of California, and its excellent and comprehensive
review of the law in the brief filed with the California
Supreme Court.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-24, 8/20/12
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan,
Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo,
Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Hill,
Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez,
Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NOES: Conway, Cook, Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Garrick,
Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Harkey, Jeffries,
Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, Nestande,
Nielsen, Olsen, Silva, Smyth, Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Furutani,
Roger Hern�ndez, Huber, Norby
RJG:m 8/21/12 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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