Representing an undocumented person in this country in a criminal case can be really tricky. The immigrant needs to know of the consequences to pleading guilty because that opens lawyer up to an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. My clients, a lot of them are undocumented immigrants and I make sure to explain that if they want to plead guilty that has dramatic effects, drastic effects on their ability later in life to quality for a visa if they want not to be in this country illegally.