{"id":650467,"date":"2018-11-28T08:36:47","date_gmt":"2018-11-28T15:36:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=650467"},"modified":"2018-11-28T13:09:38","modified_gmt":"2018-11-28T20:09:38","slug":"proposed-nm-rule-change-would-let-immigrants-work-as-lawyers-regardless-of-federal-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2018\/11\/proposed-nm-rule-change-would-let-immigrants-work-as-lawyers-regardless-of-federal-status\/","title":{"rendered":"Proposed NM rule change would let immigrants work as lawyers regardless of federal status"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_650471\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-650471\" src=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/News1-MAIN2-Justice-771x433.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"771\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/News1-MAIN2-Justice-771x433.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/News1-MAIN2-Justice-336x189.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/News1-MAIN2-Justice-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/News1-MAIN2-Justice.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Anson Stevens-Bollen<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">If adopted, New Mexico would join a handful of states in explicitly allowing undocumented immigrants to practice law after passing a bar exam.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Interpretation and enforcement of immigration laws seemingly change as fast as finicky weather patterns under President Donald Trump and his advisers, mostly a group self-styled \u201cimmigration hardliners.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In some cases, the courts have thwarted the administration\u2019s attempts at unilaterally limiting who can enter the United States. Contrarily, Trump, without evidence, continues to tout progress on \u201cThe Wall\u201d along the nation\u2019s southern border and, most recently, deployed U.S. military forces to stop what he sees as an \u201cinvasion\u201d of migrants from the south.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The uncertainty leads to big, philosophical questions on governance such as: How far does presidential power go when it comes to immigration policy?<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In New Mexico, the charged debate over immigration has raised a narrower question for the state\u2019s legal community. Should people in the United States illegally \u2014 regardless of whether they are eligible to hold jobs \u2014 be allowed to practice law here as long as they\u2019ve passed the state bar exam?<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This article comes from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmindepth.com\/2018\/11\/27\/proposed-nm-rule-change-would-allow-immigrants-to-work-as-lawyers-regardless-of-federal-status\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Mexico In Depth<\/a>. Sign up for\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmindepth.us6.list-manage.com\/subscribe?u=1d2ab093d81b992e50978b363&amp;id=9294743d38\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">their newsletter<\/a>. It was published in collaboration with the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfreporter.com\/news\/2018\/11\/27\/practicing-undocumented\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Santa Fe Reporter<\/a>,\u00a0a\u00a0NMID\u00a0partner.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"p1\">The state Supreme Court is considering the question as a proposed rule change; it\u2019s not clear when the justices will decide. If they adopt the change, New Mexico would join just a handful of states, including New York and California, in explicitly allowing undocumented immigrants to practice law after passing a bar exam.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">A small group of lawyers, led by Albuquerque-based Maureen Sanders, proposed the change.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Sanders declined to comment for this story, but Ed Chavez, who retired in March after 15 years as a state Supreme Court justice, was involved with the court\u2019s admissions committee when the proposal came forward. He says the idea was born out of concern over Trump\u2019s more draconian and fiery immigration rhetoric and policies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThe immigration issue is so volatile these days,\u201d Chavez says. \u201cSo these lawyers wanted to protect people in New Mexico who want to be lawyers themselves from whatever might happen at the federal level. \u2026 My personal, philosophical response is that we ought to have this. This is a multicultural, multilingual border state. Even for me, I am grateful for the accident of having been born here. Being a lawyer is based on character and skill, not some piece of paper that says you are allowed to be in some place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Current New Mexico Supreme Court rules allow U.S. citizens and some people not born in the country \u2014 including legal permanent residents and people \u201cotherwise authorized to work lawfully in the United States\u201d \u2014 to practice law in New Mexico.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The proposed new language is far more expansive, adding: \u201cor an individual otherwise residing in the United States. The Supreme Court may admit an applicant who is not lawfully present in the United States who is otherwise eligible for admission to practice law under this rule subject to the condition that the applicant have a contingent plan in the event of an inability to practice law.\u201d<!--more--><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">It\u2019s not clear how many undocumented immigrants are practicing law in New Mexico already. The New Mexico Bar Association does not require prospective members to disclose immigration status. (\u201cUndocumented immigrant\u201d can mean anything from those who crossed the border illegally to the so-called \u201cDreamers,\u201d who were brought to the U.S. as children without documentation.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Two women, one of them a Dreamer, have spoken to New Mexico reporters to tell their stories of graduating law school as undocumented immigrants. At least one of them is working here as a defense lawyer, though it appears her status changed just before she was admitted to the bar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cOne thing\u2019s for sure: There will be an adversarial response to whatever the court decides on this,\u201d Chavez says. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be anger either way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Based on the public comments submitted to the court, Chavez is right. Published on the Supreme Court\u2019s website, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/supremecourt.nmcourts.gov\/uploads\/FileLinks\/68d7e94c91244c3582e80b8272c30db1\/Proposal_2018_006___Immigration_status_of_bar_applicants_%5BRule_15_103_NMRA%5D_%5Bcomments_begin_on_p._5%5D.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">proposed rule change<\/a>\u00a0brought more than 120 written comments from lawyers, advocacy groups, law students and others around the state during a comment period that closed in April. That dwarfs the number of comments on other proposed rule changes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">And those who wrote in had strong feelings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Albuquerque attorney John Farrow opposes the change, writing that he is \u201csympathetic to those who are in this state illegally by no fault of their own,\u201d but those people should become citizens before they\u2019re allowed to practice law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cI do not see how anyone who has failed to become a citizen or legal resident of this country can truthfully or honestly take the attorney\u2019s oath\u201d as required by a different Supreme Court rule, Farrow writes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Stuart Bluestone, a retired Santa Fe lawyer who worked 34 years as a prosecutor and in other areas of law, writes in support of the change, reminding the justices that the principle of federalism allows them to expand rights for people in New Mexico beyond federal interpretations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Bluestone added that the proposed change could result in a more diverse perspective among attorneys and help remedy a \u201cgrave injustice\u201d taking place in New Mexico\u2019s federal courts: That some immigrants, including children, do not have adequate access to lawyers in deportation cases.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cTo the extent this new rule can help provide committed lawyers who can correct this injustice by serving as needed lawyers for children and others in immigration cases, the rule represents sound judgment and should be adopted,\u201d he writes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If adopted, New Mexico would join a handful of states in explicitly allowing undocumented immigrants to practice law after passing a bar exam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":650471,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[140,161],"class_list":["post-650467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-border-and-immigration","tag-judiciary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=650467"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":650476,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650467\/revisions\/650476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/650471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=650467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=650467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=650467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}