§2L1.1 Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018
For fiscal year 2018, the U.S. Sentencing Commission reports 2,843 people sentenced under §2L1.1. The median prison term was 12 months, and a quarter of the people sent to prison received 7.4 months or less. Sentences were within the guideline range for 39% of the people.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2L1.1 Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Ali › §2L1.1: FY2018
In brief: For fiscal year 2018, the U.S. Sentencing Commission reports 2,843 people sentenced under §2L1.1. The median prison term was 12 months, and a quarter of the people sent to prison received 7.4 months or less. Sentences were within the guideline range for 39% of the people.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 2,843 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
The Range of Prison Terms
Prison was the sentence for 2,513 of the 2,843 people (88%). For them, the median term was 12 months.
The shorter terms were quite short. A quarter received 7.4 months or less. At the other end, a quarter received 21 months or more.
Another 229 people (8%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. These are imposed terms, not time served.
Fewer Sentences Within the Range
Range information was recorded for all 2,843 people. Sentences within the guideline range numbered 1,114 (39%). A sentence below the range at the government's request was the most common result, at 45% (1,266).
Another 15% (415) were below the range without a government request, and 2% (48) were above it.
The year before, 2017, had 44% within the range. The year after, 2019, had 40%. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 36 of 2,842 people with that information, or 1%.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
A guilty plea was entered by 2,807 people (99%), and 36 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a plea was 12 months. After a trial it was 24 months, based on 36 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
A written plea agreement was part of 91% of the guilty pleas, and 9% were straight pleas. With only 36 trial convictions, the trial median describes a small group.
These counts include only people who were convicted and sentenced. Cases that ended in an acquittal or a dismissal are not part of the plea and trial totals.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release was ordered for 2,206 people (78%), with a median term of 36 months. Fines were ordered for 180 (6%), and restitution for 17 (less than 1%).
In criminal history, 58% of the people were in category I, the lowest. Category VI, the highest, held 4%. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Where Fiscal Year 2018 Fits
The year ran from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018. The Commission puts these cases under its Immigration offense type. The Manual calls the guideline "Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien."
In fiscal year 2017 there were 2,765 people under the guideline, and in fiscal year 2019 there were 3,487. Medians were 13 months and 12 months. For all fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the guideline covers 35,550 people, with a median of 12 months and 44% within the range.
Every guideline together in fiscal year 2018 covers 69,425 people, with a median of 24 months and 51% within the range. The table lists each year for §2L1.1.
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart. The data cannot show the facts of a case or the reason for a sentence.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2,423 | 13 months | 99% |
| 2017 | 2,765 | 13 months | 98% |
| 2018 | 2,843 | 12 months | 99% |
| 2019 | 3,487 | 12 months | 99% |
| 2020 | 3,392 | 11.4 months | 99% |
| 2021 | 3,551 | 13 months | more than 99% |
| 2022 | 4,056 | 12 months | more than 99% |
| 2023 | 4,731 | 12 months | more than 99% |
| 2024 | 4,345 | 12 months | more than 99% |
| 2025 | 3,957 | 12 months | more than 99% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2L1.1 (2,843), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2L1.1 Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2L1.1 Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2L1.1 Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.