Justices joke about joy riding in car-theft deportation case

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday about whether a California man can be deported for helping to steal a car.

The dispute arose because immigrants found guilty of an aggravated felony, which includes theft, are eligible for deportation.

Yet California law does not distinguish between auto thieves and those who help or are along for the ride. If the court decides in favor of Peruvian immigrant Luis Alexander Duenas-Alvarez, states would have to make that clear.

Duenas-Alvarez, a legal U.S. resident, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2002 for stealing a Honda Accord. An immigration judge ruled that Duenas-Alvarez was deportable under the Immigration and Nationality Act because a theft offense with a prison term of at least a year is an aggravated felony.