Undocumented Immigrants Will Not Get Law Licenses In Florida, Says State Supreme Court

The Florida state Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that federal law prohibits undocumented immigrants from obtaining licenses to practice law, in a case involving Jose Godinez-Samperio, Florida State University law school graduate brought from Mexico to the US when he was nine. The court acknowledged that the federal ban can be overridden by state statutes – like a law passed in California in 2013 which allowed one California man to practice despite his lack of legal status. But it ruled that Florida had not passed any such laws, making Godinez-Samperio ineligible.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Godinez-Samperio noted that the Justice Department had opined in a brief filed on the case that the license shouldn’t be granted in his case – not a new position for the DOJ, which did the same in the case of California immigrant Sergio Garcia. Godinez-Samperio said he was “very disappointed” with the court’s decision and “outraged at the president” and Congress – whom he accused of failing to “take action on immigration reform [and] dreamers issues.” He added, "If I were able to practice law I would be able to help so many immigrants navigate the legal system.”

The Miami Herald notes that Godinez-Samperio, a 26-year-old resident of Tampa Bay, was an Eagle Scout and valedictorian of his high school class. His parents originally came on a visitors’ visa and never left when it expired. Since October 2^nd, when he petitioned for the right to obtain a law license, Godinez-Samperio – who received a temporary reprieve from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program – has gotten a Florida’s driver’s license, work authorization, and a Social Security card.