Florida Senate Allows Law Licenses for Illegal Aliens

Floridians for Immigration Enforcement in an email states, “If College Tuition Subsidy for Illegal Aliens (SB 1400) were not bad enough, the Florida Senate in under 24 hours passed an amendment to allow law licenses for illegal aliens. The bill now goes to the House for a vote. The session ends Friday, May 2nd, 2014.”

On April 24th the Florida Senate took a bill that had nothing to do with state bar admission and amended it on the floor of the Senate to make illegal aliens eligible to practice law in Florida.

“Proponents of illegal aliens practicing law in Florida amended the bill, House Bill (“H.B.”) 755, on the Senate floor to avoid scrutiny or critiques of the legislation. The bill passed the Senate on Friday without any opportunity for public debate or participation. H.B. 755, which passed the House of Representatives March 23 by a vote of 117-0 as a family law bill, will now return to the House for consideration of the Senate amendment,” reports Dale L. Wilcox, State & Local Director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

Florida citizens did not have any opportunity to voice their concerns, call their representatives, or testify for or against the bill.

FAIR points out:

• Illegal Aliens, by Definition, Do Not Uphold Our Laws. Admission to the Florida bar involves taking an oath to uphold the law and the Constitution-an oath that illegal aliens cannot, in good faith, take because they reside in the United States continuously in violation of federal law.
• Illegal aliens do not only have past violations of the law to address on their bar applications, but current violations of the law as well. An illegal alien bar applicant is very different from an applicant who committed a prior bad act and subsequently rehabilitated or demonstrated law-abiding behavior after the misconduct.
• H.B. 755 Conflicts with the Rationale Behind the Good Character Requirement for Bar Admission. Public interest requires that the public be secure in its expectation that those who are admitted to the bar are worthy of the trust and confidence clients must place in their lawyers. Bar admission and Florida’s ethical rules were adopted to protect the public and promote respect and confidence in the legal profession. However, no member of the public cannot reasonably expect his lawyer to obey the law if immigration laws are considered fair game for breaking.
• The Indefinite Nature of An Illegal Alien’s Presence in the Country Fundamentally Impairs His Ability to Responsibility Represent Clients.Because illegal aliens have no legal right to remain in the United States, the representation of a client could be suddenly cut short by an order of removal. A lawyer who is removed from the country will not have enough time to act with reasonable diligence and promptness to resolve ongoing client matters and may not be able to give his clients adequate notice to terminate the representation.
• Illegal Aliens Are Not “Otherwise Law-Abiding.” Even the average illegal alien, who some claim is “otherwise law-abiding” despite violating our duly established immigration law, violates numerous laws, including, but not limited to, laws prohibiting identity theft, forgery, and driving without a license or insurance, often creating real victims.

Wilcox notes, “Florida should demand that its lawyers be honest and law-abiding. Illegal aliens are neither.”

H.B. 755 was amended at the last minute to include the provision making illegal aliens eligible to practice law in Florida. As a result, the issue was never considered in any committee and never provided a public hearing.

Concerned citizens may call or email their Florida Representative and voice their opinion on H.B. 755.

---