  We posit that the distinct patterns observed in fermion masses and mixings
are due to a minimally broken $\mathrm{U}(2)_{q+e}$ flavor symmetry acting on
left-handed quarks and right-handed charged leptons, giving rise to an
accidental $\mathrm{U}(2)^5$ symmetry at the renormalizable level without
imposing selection rules on the Weinberg operator. We show that the symmetry
can be consistently gauged by explicit examples and comment on realizations in
$\mathrm{SU}(5)$ unification. Via a model-independent SMEFT analysis, we find
that selection rules due to $\mathrm{U}(2)_{q+e}$ enhance the importance of
charged lepton flavor violation as a probe, where significant experimental
progress is expected in the near future.
