Florida Board of Bar Examiners Re: Questions as to Whether Undocumented Immigrants Are Eligible f — Labarga, J…

Summary

The concurrence reluctantly agreed that federal law prevented admission of an otherwise qualified undocumented immigrant to The Florida Bar because Florida had not enacted legislation affirmatively authorizing the relevant public benefit. It reasoned that the applicant’s unlawful presence and possible employment restrictions did not independently establish bad moral character or bar admission under Florida’s rules. The concurrence urged the Florida Legislature to remedy the inequity, as another state legislature had done. The opinion is a concurrence and therefore states no controlling holding of its own.