The American Bar Association passed two resolutions last Monday, one to admit illegal aliens to the bar, and another to make courthouses off limits to federal law enforcement so that illegal alien lawyers can feel free to practice law anywhere in the country without risk of deportation—following the lead of states like California, New York, and Florida.

According to an official press release from the legal profession’s governing body, the resolution was met with only modest opposition at the ABA Annual Meeting August 14th.

 

Resolution 108, proposed by the ABA Law Student Division and embraced by the ABA Young Lawyers Division, recommends that state courts with authority to regulate admission to the bar admit undocumented law school graduates if they are “seeking legal status.” The resolution passed by voice vote with modest opposition.

Law Newz, an online legal industry publication, reports the short amendment was written by the ABA’s Law Student Division, to 8 U.S.C. 5 § 1621(d):

A state court vested with exclusive authority to regulate admission to the bar may, by rule, order, or other affirmative act, permit an undocumented alien seeking legal status to obtain a professional license to practice law in that jurisdiction.

In 2013, then-Attorney General, now California’s US Senator and Democrat Presidential hopeful Kamala Harris (D-CA), filed a “friend of the court brief” supporting  California’s action to admit illegals to the bar, arguing that it would not violate a federal law prohibiting illegal aliens from getting “professional licenses.”

The resolution was modeled after a 2013 California State bill that made it legal for illegal aliens to practice law.  The bill was prompted by the plight of Sergio Garcia, who passed the California State Bar Exam but was declared ineligible for admission to the bar association because of his illegal status.

A second resolution to make courthouses “sanctuaries” from any and all immigration law enforcement—something California has already done unilaterally—is dependent on action from Congress:

Resolution 10C urges Congress to amend Section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to expand and codify Department of Homeland Security guidelines regarding immigration enforcement. It would specifically add courthouses to the government’s “sensitive locations” list.

This resolution is sure to fall on deaf ears with a majority Republican Congress and Donald J. Trump in the White House, but the ABA made it clear that there’s another agenda at work.  By making illegal aliens members of the Bar Association, the ABA seeks to protect illegal aliens in and around the courts, essentially “banned” from enforcement efforts—in an effort to shield not only illegal alien lawyers but also their clients who may be present in the country illegally.

Tim Donnelly is a former California State Assemblyman and Author, currently on a book tour for his new book: Patriot Not Politician: Win or Go Homeless.  He also ran for governor in 2014.

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