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 Sergio Garcia, a Mexican native, became a personal injury attorney
in Northern California in 2014 after the California legislature
passed a statute allowing undocumented immigrants to become
attorneys. But under federal law, he was unable to become an
employee and was therefore forced to work independently.
With his new permanent-resident status, Garcia can join a firm, a
typical step for young lawyers. But for now, the 38-year-old lawyer
said he planned to keep a solo practice.
"It’s great to have the opportunity to join one if I want to, but so
far, so good," he said. "I’ve always wanted to be my own boss."
 Garcia applied for his green card in 1994 after immigrating at age
17, but the application became mired in a backlog. After passing the
California bar exam, one of the toughest in the country, he decided
to fight for his license to practice law, a struggle that drew
national attention and a favorable ruling from the California
Supreme Court.
President Barack Obama created the Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals program in 2012 to allow immigrants who came to the country
illegally as children to earn work permits. Garcia did not qualify
for the program because he was too old by the time it started.
He might have qualified under an expanded version of the initiative
that was announced in November, but it was blocked in February by a
federal judge.
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Garcia, who represents field workers, janitors and nannies in Chico,
90 miles north of Sacramento, recently filed his first lawsuit and
won a $25,000 insurance payment for a woman injured in a car
accident. He said he enjoyed helping other “underdogs” like himself,
many with immigrant backgrounds.
"It’s always the little guy that gets the bad deal unless they have
someone to look out for them," he said.
(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and
Peter Cooney)
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