Dean Johnson Publishes Commentary on Immigration Reform in National Law Journal

Dean Kevin R. Johnson has published a commentary in The National Law Journal on the need for Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform in the wake of the landmark California Supreme Court ruling in In re Sergio C. Garcia.

The Garcia case, in which an undocumented immigrant who was brought into the United States as a child was found eligible for a license to practice law in California, "reveals the daunting real-world challenges facing undocumented immigrants who were raised and educated in this country, and are undeniably American in all respects except for their immigration status," Dean Johnson writes. Garcia applied for a visa in 1994, yet is still awaiting approval, largely because current immigration law imposes limits on the number of visas issued to nationals from any single country. As a result, immigrants from Mexico, Garcia's native country, as well as India and the Philippines, must wait decades for approval.

"To avoid the growth of a future undocumented population, Congress should increase the limited number of immigrant visas and eliminate decades of backlogged visa applications so that law-abiding noncitizens can lawfully come to the United States," writes Dean Johnson.

Kevin R. Johnson is Dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o studies at UC Davis School of Law. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.

Dean Johnson commentary: "The Broader Lesson from Garcia's Fight for Justice"