[T]he only question before the Court is whether Mr. Garcia meets the criteria for admission to the bar under state and federal law. Because he is not an eligible alien under 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1621, and thus does not satisfy a condition set out in federal law, the bar application should be denied.

Immigration [JURIST backgrounder] continues to be a contentious issue in the US. Last week, JURIST guest columnist Geoffrey Hoffman declared [JURIST op-ed] that the US Supreme Court's decision in Arizona v. United States [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] serves as a strong reminder of the executive branch's power to create and enforce a coherent, and ideally compassionate, immigration policy. Two weeks ago, a coalition of civil rights groups asked a federal judge [JURIST report] to block a portion of Arizona's controversial immigration law [SB 1070, PDF; JURIST news archive] that requires police to check the immigration status of people they stop. Earlier in July, JURIST guest columnist Chris Schlag opined [JURIST op-ed] that the Obama administration's policy of "deferred action" toward young undocumented immigrants is a step in the right direction, but that more comprehensive legislation such as the DREAM Act is needed to ensure that the immigration system is fair and legally accountable.