Sergio Covarrubias Garcia (born March 1, 1977) is a Mexican attorney in the United States specializing in personal injury. On February 1, 2014, Garcia, then 36, became the first undocumented immigrant to be admitted to the
State Bar of California since 2008, when applicants were first required to list citizenship status on bar applications.
Early life and education
Garcia was born in
Michoacán,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, to parents Salvador Covarrubias and Albertina Garcia, who brought him to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
when he was 17 months old.
When he was nine years old, Garcia's family moved from the United States back to Mexico, with him in tow.
When he was 17, Garcia's father moved his family again, bringing Garcia into the United States illegally a second time,
where he has remained ever since. Garcia applied for legal residency on November 18, 1994, but his application remained pending for nearly 19 years.
Garcia is the second-oldest of six children, with two brothers and three sisters.
Garcia graduated from
Durham High School before earning an
associate degree in social and behavioral sciences and another in business administration from
Butte College
Butte College is a public community college in the Butte-Glenn Community College District in Chico and Orland, California.
History
After the passage of the 1960 Donahoe Act, the voters of Butte County created a local community college ...
. He completed the paralegal certificate program from
California State University, Chico
California State University, Chico, or commonly, Chico State, is a public university in Chico, California. Founded in 1887, it is the second oldest campus in the California State University system. As of the fall 2020 semester, the university h ...
. On May 9, 2009, after years of attending law school at night so he could work during the day, Garcia received a
Juris Doctor from
Cal Northern School of Law
Cal Northern School of Law is a private law school located in Chico, California. Cal Northern offers a four-year night program.
Accreditation
The school has been approved by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California since 19 ...
. In July of that same year, Garcia passed the California Bar Exam on his first attempt.
Career
California Bar admission
On September 4, 2013, the
Supreme Court of California heard oral argument on the ''In re'' Garcia admission matter. During arguments on the matter, it became apparent that the court would be unable to grant Garcia's petition for bar admission unless legislative action allowed them to do so. Justice
Marvin R. Baxter asked why nobody had reached out to the
California State Legislature, noting, "I would imagine there would be a great deal of support for something like this." Garcia then began lobbying members of the legislature until a bill was finally introduced recommending applicants be allowed to practice law if they have met all other bar requirements in spite of having been brought into the country unlawfully by their parents. The court testified in a hearing of the legislature recommending that immigrants who were brought here illegally as minors should be allowed to obtain law licenses, and the legislature passed said legislation just three days later. Governor
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of ...
signed the legislation on October 5, 2013, and the bill went into effect January 1, 2014.
In a January 2, 2014, by unanimous decision consistent with the new legislation, the court instructed the State Bar, an arm of the court, to admit Garcia, rejecting arguments of the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...
and others that federal law precluded his admission due to his undocumented status. According to the court's decision, section 1621 of
Title 8 of the United States Code
Title 8 of the United States Code codifies statutes relating to aliens and nationality in the United States Code.
Chapters 1-11
* : General Provisions (repealed or omitted)
* : Elective Franchise (transferred)
* : Civil Rights (transferred/repe ...
"generally restricts an undocumented immigrant's eligibility to obtain a professional license, but that also contains a subsection expressly authorizing a state to render an undocumented immigrant eligible to obtain such a professional license through the enactment of a state law meeting specified requirements."
After Governor
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of ...
signed Senate Bill No. 1159 on September 28, 2014, requiring "all 40 licensing boards under the
California Department of Consumer Affairs
The California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) is a department within the California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. DCA's stated mission is to serve the interests of California's consumers by ensuring a standard of profess ...
to consider applicants regardless of immigration status by 2016," Garcia was cited as being part of the inspiration for the bill.
Litigation attorney
After learning the
Supreme Court of California ruled he could be a lawyer, Garcia told ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', "I can open my own law firm, and that's exactly what I intend to do." On February 3, 2014, Garcia opened The Law Offices of Sergio C. Garcia headquartered in
Chico, California
Chico ( ; Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 census, reflecting an increase from 86,18 ...
. Garcia announced, via Facebook, his intention to open a second law office in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
in June 2014.
Lecturer, motivational speaker, guest appearances
As an inspirational speaker and nationally recognized lawyer, Garcia has delivered many keynote addresses and lectures, and participated in panels at venues including
Sierra College
Sierra College is a public community college in Rocklin, California. It is part of the Sierra Joint Community College District, a district that covers over , serves Placer, Nevada and parts of El Dorado and Sacramento counties.
History
The co ...
, the Bickel & Brewer Latino Institute for Human Rights at
New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in N ...
, La Raza Centro Legal's 41st Anniversary Celebration, and
Napa Valley College
Napa Valley College, formerly Napa Junior College and Napa Community College, is a public community college in Napa, California. The tree-lined main campus is on overlooking the Napa River and includes a performing arts center, a child develop ...
's fourth annual Dreamer's Conference.
In early 2014,
Saint Mary's Hall, a private college preparatory school in
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, invited Garcia to be a speaker at their
model United Nations
Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a count ...
conference. However, the school rescinded the invitation to Garcia when he refused to certify that he was a citizen by signing a
W-9 form. Before the incident, Saint Mary's Hall had described Garcia as an "experienced and exciting keynote speaker", as well as expressing how unfortunate that he had been waiting for a visa for 19 years.
Garcia has a national segment on
MundoFox
MundoMax (; originally known as MundoFox from August 13, 2012 to July 28, 2015) was an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network that was owned by RCN Televisión. The network broadcast programs aimed at Hispanic and Latino America ...
every Friday. On June 10, 2014,
TED published a Garcia talk called "Fighting for Justice, Changing Lives: Sergio Garcia at TEDxBoyleHeights."
On March 28, 2015, Garcia was the guest speaker at the
Tehama County Democratic Dinner, where he told attendees, "I would not be here without the many good Democrats of California, and they are my family." Garcia was scheduled to be awarded the 2015 Phillip Burton Immigration and Civil Rights Award on May 28, 2015.
Author
In 2006, Garcia published a
self-help book
A self-help book is one that is written with the intention to instruct its readers on solving personal problems. The books take their name from '' Self-Help'', an 1859 best-seller by Samuel Smiles, but are also known and classified under "self- ...
on romance called ''Love, Sex and Romance'', the proceeds from which he used to pay his law school tuition.
Following his August 2012 appearance at a press conference and guest of honor at
California's Capitol Hill, Garcia authored "''Soñando de Este a Oeste''...," an essay appearing in Spanish on ''
Huffington Post''.
Garcia coauthored an article appearing in the February 2013 issue of ''
Los Angeles Lawyer'' titled "Waiting to Become an Attorney after Passing the Bar", encouraging young attorneys to learn how to assist undocumented youths under the
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, colloquially referred to as DACA, is a United States immigration policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive ...
, which would protect undocumented youth from deportation while providing them with a work permit. "One way is to become trained to help applicants to apply for deferred action so that they may obtain some interim status in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
," wrote Garcia and coauthor.
Sergio C. Garcia Foundation
Along with money he raises through fundraising, Garcia shares his speaking engagement fees with students struggling financially through scholarships granted by the Sergio C. Garcia Foundation. As of March 18, 2014, the foundation had raised $55,000.
References
External links
''In re Sergio C. Garcia on Admission'' - S202512 California Supreme Court page on the Garcia case. Accessed June 3, 2014.
''In re Sergio C. Garcia on Admission'' no. S202512, Cal. Sup. Ct. (Jan. 2, 2014). California Supreme Court decision granting the motion to admit Garcia. Accessed June 3, 2014.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Sergio C.
1977 births
Living people
California lawyers
Immigrant rights activists
People from Michoacán
Illegal immigration to the United States
Mexican emigrants to the United States
American academics of Mexican descent
Cal Northern School of Law alumni
Undocumented immigrants to the United States