Updated at 6:00 p.m. ET: Four U.S. Marines were arrested after allegedly assaulting a gay man outside a bar in southern California, and the attack was being investigated as a possible hate crime, police said.

The victim, a film student from San Dimas, blacked out from being beaten early Monday morning outside the popular Silver Fox bar in Long Beach, Calif., where he had gone with his boyfriend, CBSLA.com reported. He was hospitalized overnight and released with non-life threatening injuries, Long Beach Police Cmdr. Joe Stilinovich told NBC News on Wednesday afternoon.

The Marines were arrested for assault and charged with a hate crime, among other charges, though it will ultimately be up to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office to determine what charges will be pursued, Stilinovich said. Names of the suspects won’t be released until charges are formally filed.

“We are out seeking additional witnesses at this time and conducting a thorough investigation to ensure that the appropriate charges are presented to the district attorney’s office,” he said, adding that authorities were trying to determine the role each suspect played in the assault. When asked what made the attack a potential hate crime, he said: “During the course of the assault and prior to the assault, statements were made by the suspect (and/or suspects), derogatory statements, regarding the victim’s sexual orientation.”

The Marines were out on bail and have returned to their units, a Marine Corps' spokesman told NBC News. They came into the bar late Sunday or early Monday. One of them allegedly made derogatory remarks to the man, according to media reports.

"You could tell by the tone of his voice that he [the Marine] was uncomfortable. He was making a demeaning remark," Silver Fox Manager John Barnes told the Press-Telegram on Tuesday, adding that the alleged attacker had called the victim “sweetheart.”

The victim, who told CBS that he did not want to be identified out of concern for his safety, said the assault occurred outside the bar. Witnesses said the men used homophobic slurs, the television station reported.

“He starts pushing me and calling me f–,” the victim said, noting that he later blacked out.

Two people who tried to help the victim were also attacked but either were not hurt or had only minor injuries, police spokeswoman Nancy Pratt said late Tuesday in a statement.

“Based on the preliminary investigation, it was determined that an assault had occurred to a male adult by several male suspects after they had left the establishment,” she said. “The Long Beach Police Department is handling this case and are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.”

The Marine Corps learned of the attack on Tuesday and was performing its own inquiry as well as cooperating with police, Maj. Manuel Delarosa, a spokesman for the Marines, said early Wednesday.

The Marines, based at Camp Pendleton in southern California, were in their first enlistment, he said, adding that the attack was an isolated incident and that last year's repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy hadn't come up as an issue.

"This is behavior that's not acceptable in the Marine Corps," Delarosa said. "Any crimes of intolerance are unacceptable and not tolerated as far as behavior expected of a United States Marine."

Stilinovich said the department tracked local hate crime incidents, which had reached a low of five last year in the past decade. Excluding Monday’s alleged attack, there have been two such incidents this year, he said.

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Courtesy of Sergio Garcia

A California State Bar committee is recommending that Sergio Garcia, an illegal immigrant, receive a law license in a first-ever case for the California Supreme Court that could affect others like him who hope to follow in his footsteps.

Updated at 445 p.m. ET -- An illegal immigrant applying for a law license in California should be allowed to receive it, the State Bar of California argues in a filing to the state Supreme Court.

Sergio Garcia, 35, of Chico, Calif., has met the rules for admission, including passing the bar exam and the moral character review, and his lack of legal status in the United States should not automatically disqualify him, the Committee of Bar Examiners said Monday.

“ … Mr. Garcia’s status in the United States, should not, ipso facto, be grounds for excluding him from law licensure. He has met all of the prescribed qualifications and there is no reason to believe he cannot take the oath and faithfully uphold his duties as an attorney,” the bar said.

Garcia's father is a naturalized citizen, according to the bar, and Garcia is waiting for a visa that would give him legal permanent residency. His application for a law license is being weighed by the court because his case is unprecedented in the state, the bar committee said.

A similar case is being heard in Florida for a bar applicant in that state, Jose Godinez-Samperio, who came from Mexico to the United States as a child with his parents and overstayed a tourist visa. How justices rule in the cases in California and Florida could affect other illegal immigrants who hope to follow in their footsteps.

Some 11.5 million “unauthorized immigrants,” as the Department of Homeland Security calls illegal immigrants, lived in the United States as of January 2011. Of that, 6.8 million were from Mexico, like Garcia, according to the department’s Office of Immigration Statistics. On Friday, President Barack Obama announced that some of the immigrants who came to the country as children – and met other requirements -- would be able to get two-year work permits. He also called on immigration officials to halt deportation proceedings against them.

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Garcia, who attended law school and college in California, does not fit in that group because he is over the age limit of 30, but he is nonetheless overjoyed for those who do. He has been waiting nearly 18 years for a visa, though his petition for it was approved in 1995, the bar said.

“That’s the state of our immigration system … our immigration system is broken,” Garcia told msnbc.com, estimating he will have to wait another five years for the visa. “It’s really painful.”

A decision on his bar application could still be at least months away for Garcia. Others now have one month to submit their own legal filings in the case, and then the state bar would have another month to reply to those, the court said.

“I have always been an eternal optimist so this (bar recommendation) does give me hope,” Garcia, who submitted his application to the bar in 2009, told msnbc.com. “I have faith that my dream of being an attorney will be realized sooner rather than later.”

In the filing, the bar committee said it was not aware of any statute, regulation or authority that would preclude his admission. It noted that Garcia’s employability in the U.S. should not determine whether he gets a license, citing the cases of foreign students who can get admitted to the California bar but may not stay in the country to practice law afterward.

“ … the grant of a law license provides no guarantee of a pathway to lawful employment in the United States for these individuals,” the bar committee said. “What Mr. Garcia, or any other foreign applicant, does with his license after licensure must comport with federal regulations and that is a matter strictly between him and the federal government.”

Former Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno, who supports Garcia’s application, said that the court was the ultimate authority on attorney admissions in the state and would likely establish a rule in this case that would apply to similar ones in the future.

But the possibility that undocumented immigrants could receive law licenses doesn’t sit well with some.

“I think that’s ridiculous,” said Marilyn DeYoung, chairman of Californians for Population Stabilization, which advocates for secure borders and allowing fewer immigrants into the country.  “First of all, they are defying the law of America by being here illegally so, and now they want to be a lawyer and to practice American law. I think that’s really sort of stupid that our California bar would recommend that.”

While DeYoung said she could sympathize with Garcia’s long wait for his visa and she wouldn’t be unhappy if an exception was made for him, she expressed concern that a general rule could come out of this case that would allow any illegal immigrant to get a license.

“We would definitely oppose that,” she said. “This is, we feel, is not right.”

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Denny Henry for msnbc.com

Jose Manuel Godinez-Samperio at Capitol Hill on April 19. He is an undocumented immigrant, brought to the U.S. from Mexico as a child, who is seeking his law license in Florida in what appears to be a landmark case.

Jose Manuel Godinez-Samperio was brought to the United States from Mexico by his parents when he was nine years old. Sixteen years later, he had graduated from his Florida high school as class valedictorian, become an Eagle Scout, completed college and law school, and passed the state bar exam.

But one big accomplishment eluded him: citizenship. Godinez-Samperio is in the country illegally, which could keep him from achieving another part of his American dream: becoming a lawyer.

In what appears to be a landmark case, the Florida Supreme Court is going to consider whether Godinez-Samperio has the right to practice the law -- a decision that could impact others who hope to follow in his footsteps.

“It makes me feel that we’re living in a … historical moment. I really think the last time something like this happened was when African Americans and women were admitted to the bar,” he told msnbc.com. “I think if we win this, it’ll be another historical civil rights mark.”

Godinez-Samperio is pressing his case as the national debate over illegal immigration heats up. On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on the constitutionality of Arizona’s strict anti-illegal immigration law. And last week, Godinez-Samperio was in the nation’s capitol to lobby for the Dream Act, which would provide a path to legal status to some adults who came to America illegally as children. Supporters are making a renewed push for the legislation after it failed in the U.S. Senate in 2010. 

Some 11.5 million “unauthorized immigrants,” as the Department of Homeland Security calls them, lived in the United States as of January 2011. Of that, 6.8 million were from Mexico, like Godinez-Samperio, according to the department’s Office of Immigration Statistics.

Godinez-Samperio’s journey to the law began when he and his parents left their home in Pachuca, Mexico. They came on tourist visas, which they overstayed. He didn’t know English and it was a few years before he began to realize what his immigration status was and what it meant for his future.

He couldn’t get a social security number or a driver’s license, he didn’t have access to most financial aid, he couldn’t work for compensation and has been ineligible for most internships and awards, according to an essay he submitted for his law school application.

But he said he managed to get private scholarships to help pay for his education, and volunteered where he could -- such as helping domestic violence victims obtain immigration relief.

“For me, it’s very important to show that I have been a contributing member of society (the) entire time I have lived in this country,” he said. “ … there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be allowed to contribute even more  … with a green card.”

When Godinez-Samperio applied to take the bar exam last year, he sought a waiver because he didn’t have proof of his immigration status, which is required by the Florida Board of Bar Examiners who administer the test. States set their own requirements for those seeking to become a lawyer.

His request was granted. Godinez-Samperio took the bar exam in July and found out in September that he had passed. He was ecstatic, until he learned in November that the board was going to seek an advisory opinion from the state supreme court on whether undocumented immigrants are eligible for admission to the Florida Bar.

Denny Henry for msnbc.com

Cesar Vargas at Capitol Hill on April 19 to launch a Dream Act-related campaign. He is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, brought to the U.S. as a child, who is pushing for immigration law reform.

“I had mixed feelings,” he said. “I knew that it was going to be an interesting trajectory that I was about to begin.”

That journey has included a number of filings from the board and his attorney, Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte, as well as a few friend-of-the-court submissions from groups supporting his application, including three past presidents of the American Bar Association.

“It’s the first time it’s ever been addressed in Florida, and I think it’s probably the first time it’s been before a supreme court anywhere in the country,” said Thomas Arthur Pobjecky, the board’s general counsel.

The board determined it was “a really serious matter” and decided to seek out the court’s guidance in these types of cases, which they expect to see more of in the future.

“If the law says you cannot employ -- or it’s against the law to employ -- somebody who is not legally in this country, then when we say … here is a license to practice law in this country, are they not also implying that you can hire this person and go ahead and pay him and everything else? So there is a concern,” Pobjecky said. “Once the Florida Supreme Court licenses somebody to be a lawyer, they’re putting their stamp of approval on that person.” 

But D’Alemberte questioned why the board would let his client sit the exam if they did not intend to give him a license.

“It just seems to us fundamentally unfair after he’s complied with every valid rule not to just go ahead and admit him to the bar and leave to the immigration service whether he is complying with immigration,” he said.

The possibility that undocumented immigrants could receive law licenses doesn’t sit well with some.

“I know what the policy ought to be, which is that … someone who doesn’t have the right to be in the United States shouldn’t be admitted to the bar, period,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington think tank that supports tighter immigration controls.

“This is trying to steal a base. In other words, they’re trying to skip over the debate over whether people in his situation should get legalized,” he added. “It’s one more way of trying to create a de facto legalization.”

Cesar Vargas, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who has passed the bar exam and is in the process of applying for his law license in New York, has started a group, the Dream Bar Association, to advocate for people in his position. Membership numbers about two dozen, and includes those interested in going to law school to those who have passed the bar.

“We’re basically throwing the judicial branch into the immigration debate … through our cases,” he said.

In California, Sergio Garcia, 35, an illegal immigrant, has been awaiting a decision since he passed the bar exam in 2009. Because the admissions process is confidential, neither Garcia nor the bar could speak about his application, though a bar spokeswoman said the application for admission doesn't require citizenship.

Thomas Fitton, of conservative Washington watchdog Judicial Watch, said the idea of an undocumented immigrant working as a lawyer in the U.S. was “preposterous.”

“These are kind of, in some ways, public relations stunts, but you know, we’ll see what happens … the whole notion of it is at odds with the rule of law and undermines federal immigration law,” he said. “I think those who’ve passed the bar should focus on making themselves legal as opposed to bypassing the law.”

But others feel that admission should be done on a case-by-case basis, taking into account whether a specific applicant has met the moral character test of the application, said Stephen N. Zack, a former ABA president who has filed a brief in support of Godinez-Samperio.

“You can’t take one finite point and say that that is an absolute determination of a person’s character,” he said. “You have to look in a holistic way at the person’s life story and here, you have an exceptional person.”

He also noted that bar candidates like Godinez-Samperio could offer some unique services, with the nation heading to a “majority minority” status in the decades to come.

“We need people who can reach out and provide access to communities that … have historically not had access, and this is the kind of person that is ideal to provide that to the future generations,” he said.

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Godinez-Samperio, who would like to work in immigration law, continues to research his case and to work on promoting the Dream Act.

“This is a huge fight for me and for a lot of people,” he said.

Despite the challenges and the uncertainty, he doesn’t regret going public before a Florida legislative committee in April 2011 with his status, which few were aware of before.

“I decided to come out with my story because I’m undocumented, unapologetic and unafraid,” he said. “In telling the truth, I am risking my liberty, but that’s what a lawyer is about, is about telling the truth … so I’m being as honest as I can possibly get, even to the point of risking my liberty.”

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