Honor investment in young professionals

Undocumented immigrants can get the education but not licensure

The day after President Trump’s inauguration, Yazmin Irazoqui-Ruiz woke up and asked herself, “What’s the point of continuing my medical school education?” That day, she almost did not make it out of bed.

Yazmin is one of the thousands of DACAmented young adults President Trump wanted to boot out of the country as soon as he got a chance. Yazmin is also a member of the LGBTQ community, another group that President Trump relished attacking, adding to her sense of hopelessness. Thinking about her journey to medical school was the only thing that got Yazmin out of bed that Saturday morning.

Yazmin made it through medical school due to a combination of grit, determination, faith and support from her family and community. Even so, only a few months before Yazmin’s graduation from medical school at the beginning of 2020, New Mexico did not have legislation that bypassed the federal laws that bar professional licenses for undocumented folk. This meant that even though Yazmin had met all of the requirements to be a medical doctor in New Mexico, there was the uncertainty of whether she could obtain a medical license to pursue her career as a surgeon. To pursue her dream career, Yazmin had to consider moving to another state. She was not alone in this dilemma.

Dozens of young students had graduated or were about to graduate with medical, teaching, nursing and myriad other professional degrees. They, too, could not obtain professional licenses in our state simply because they were not legal U.S. residents or citizens. In 2005, the Legislature passed a law providing in-state tuition and funds such as the Lottery Scholarship to all N.M. students who attend one year of secondary education, regardless of status. This means the state invests in undocumented students’ K-12 education, college tuitions and then fails to provide a pathway for them to serve the state as professionals.

During the 2020 legislative session, Yazmin and countless undocumented or DACAmented students tirelessly advocated to pass Senate Bill 137, alongside the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, and other youth advocacy partners. The bill removed immigration status as a barrier to professional and occupational licensure or certification for professions or occupations that did not statutorily require a specific type of immigration status. This bill gave teachers, dental hygienists, doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and other vital professionals the right to obtain a professional license regardless of their immigration status.

Thanks to SB 137, Yazmin became Dr. Irazoqui-Ruiz, surgery resident at the University of New Mexico. However, SB 137 did not repeal statutes for professions or occupations that require a specific type of immigration status. Examples of occupations that still require U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident status in New Mexico include optometrists, physical therapists, real estate agents, home inspectors and bail bondsmen. This year, SB 219 aims to eliminate statutory barriers to professional licenses currently in existence for undocumented students.

I urge senators, representatives and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to support this bill. It will give more young adults like Dr. Irazoqui-Ruiz the opportunity to pursue their career of choice in their home state. In turn, these young professionals will offer New Mexicans their valuable skills and allow our state to reap the rewards of its decades-long educational investment in undocumented youth.