The Quote Below–More Misinformation from the Media
“Despite what the Republican Party of New Mexico would have us believe, the New Mexico Supreme Court’s recent rule change removing immigration status as a barrier to practice law in the state is neither ‘rash’ nor ‘reckless.’
“Last week the state’s highest court added a sentence to its rules governing admission to the bar, saying, ‘License to practice law shall not be denied based solely on the applicant’s citizenship or immigration status. . . .’
“The success of conditional admission “made it clear it was appropriate to revise the rule,” Chief Justice C. Shannon Bacon said, characterizing the rule change as “the final step in a natural progression of updating attorney licensure requirements.”
“New Mexico is one of at least eight states that now permit admission to the state bar regardless of citizenship or immigration status, Bacon said, and the change ‘is grounded in the fundamental principle of fairness and is consistent with New Mexico’s historical values of inclusion and diversity in its culture.’
“And in a real-world application, the rule change irons out an inconsistency in state policy. New Mexico law prohibits universities from denying admission or financial aid based on immigration status.
“‘Why educate people and not let them work?” said Albuquerque attorney Maureen Sanders, who cheered the rule change as ‘a huge statement for equality and justice’ in New Mexico.
“The New Mexico Legislature passed bills in 2020 and 2021 that allowed nearly all professional and occupational licenses in New Mexico to be available to qualified applicants regardless of immigration status. . . .
“But the New Mexico Republican Party was quick to call the rule change ‘an egregious action’ that will permit ‘illegal aliens to practice law’ in New Mexico.
“‘This latest rule will open our borders even more,” Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce said in a written statement. ‘This Court has gotten out of control, and it believes it can do whatever it wants.’
“The chief justice said the Supreme Court rule-making committee “carefully vetted’ the change during “a thorough, deliberative process that included robust public comment, which was overwhelmingly in support of the change.’” . . . — NM Justices Right: We Educate People, So Let Them Work, Editorial Board, Albuquerque Journal, 8/26/22 [Link]
Fact Check of Above Quote: The irony in this editorial is quite overwhelming. It maintains that lawbreakers have the right to be lawyers, the people who handle and administer law in their practices. The judge who made this ruling claimed that it was “grounded” in New Mexico’s historical value of “inclusion.” An attorney cited by the editorial called it “a huge statement for equality and justice.”
Let’s analyze these statements. Just why is it “justice” to include illegal aliens as equals in our legal profession? The answer is that it is not justice, unless one believes that it is just to erase the distinction between legal citizens and illegal noncitizens. If that distinction doesn’t matter, then it follows that our citizenship doesn’t matter. This in turn implies that our country doesn’t matter either.
New Mexico’s Supreme Court ruling is limited in scope, but its implications are broad. It is just one of so many assaults against our citizenry and nationhood by illegal alien advocates. The sum of all these assaults is considerable. The Republican Party chairman is correct to call the ruling an “egregious action.”
This editorial maintains it is “inconsistent” to deny illegal aliens access to practicing law when the state grants them access to education. That is true, but there is another way of finding consistency. This is to deny all benefits to illegal aliens in the U.S., which is perfectly consistent with the principle that they shouldn’t be here in the first place.