SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court granted a law license Thursday to a man who has been living in the United States illegally for two decades, a ruling that advocates hope will open the door to immigrants seeking to enter other professions such as medicine and teaching.
The unanimous decision means Sergio Garcia, who came to the United States as a teenager, attended law school, and passed the state bar exam while working in a grocery store, can begin practicing law.
The decision is the latest in a string of legal and legislative victories for people who are living in the country without permission.
The court sided with state officials in the case, which pitted them against the White House over a 1996 federal law that bars people who are in the nation illegally from receiving professional licenses from government agencies unless state lawmakers vote otherwise.
California did recently approve a law authorizing the state to give law licenses to illegal immigrants.