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Commonwealth v. Nava 2009 PA Super 28 (2/11/2009)

Topic: State Judge requiring Illegal Alien to Leave Pennsylvania

Summary: State judges are permitted to investigate the citizenship status of a defendant. Further, a sentencing judge may not order an illegal alien to leave the state: “Under the pretext of punishment, and the cover of the sentencing code, the trial judge has fashioned his own solution to the problem of illegal immigration which has perplexed both state and national legislators. The sentencing code, however, cannot be transformed into a tool of immigration reform.”

http://www.pacourts.us/OpPosting/Superior/out/S77019_08.pdf