> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# §2L1.1 Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2l1-1-smuggling-transporting-or-harboring-an-unlawful-alien-fy2021/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:06:34.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:06:34.000Z
- Description: Probation only was the sentence for 377 people (11%) of the 3,551 sentenced under §2L1.1 in fiscal year 2021. Among the 2,999 people sent to prison (84%), the median term was 13 months, and a quarter received 24 months or more. Guilty pleas were more than 99% of the cases.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2L1.1 Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Ali](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2l1-1-smuggling-transporting-or-harboring-an-unlawful-alien/) › §2L1.1: FY2021

**In brief:** Probation only was the sentence for 377 people (11%) of the 3,551 sentenced under §2L1.1 in fiscal year 2021\. Among the 2,999 people sent to prison (84%), the median term was 13 months, and a quarter received 24 months or more. Guilty pleas were more than 99% of the cases.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 3,551 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021\. 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Probation Only and Prison Terms

Probation with no prison or other confinement went to 377 of the 3,551 people sentenced in this fiscal year. Prison went to 2,999\. The Commission's percentages are 11% and 84%.

For the people sent to prison, the median term was 13 months. The longest quarter of terms were 24 months or more, and the shortest quarter were 6 months or less.

The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021\. Terms are those imposed, and time served may differ.

## Pleas Were Nearly Every Case

A guilty plea was entered by 3,528 people, which is more than 99%. Only 23 people were convicted after a trial.

The median prison term was 13 months after a plea and 21 months after a trial. The trial median covers 23 people sent to prison. That is a very small group, and the data does not show what separates the plea and trial groups beyond the way the case ended.

Written plea agreements were part of 83% of guilty pleas, and 17% were straight pleas.

## Position Against the Guideline Range

There were 3,550 people with range information. A sentence within the range went to 43% (1,536). The government asked for a below-range sentence in 42% of the cases (1,504). Below the range with no such request: 14% (482). Above the range: less than 1% (28).

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 46 of the 3,549 people with that information (1%).

## Orders After the Sentence

A supervised release term was ordered for 2,756 people (78%), and the median term was 36 months. Fines were ordered for 341 (10%). Restitution was ordered for 19 (less than 1%).

## Criminal History

In this fiscal year, 58% of the people were in category I, the lowest criminal history category, and 3% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Other Years, All Guidelines, and Limits

The Guidelines Manual titles §2L1.1 "Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien," and the Commission lists it under the Immigration offense type. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart, so only federal numbers are reported.

The year before had 3,392 people and a median of 11.4 months. The year after had 4,056 people and a median of 12 months. Over all fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the guideline covers 35,550 people with a median of 12 months.

For every guideline in fiscal year 2021, 57,287 people were sentenced, with a median of 29 months and 43% within the range. The table lists each year for §2L1.1.

The data counts only people convicted and sentenced, and it cannot explain why any sentence was chosen.

| 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 2021 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2L1.1 (3,551), 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [§2L1.1 Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2l1-1-smuggling-transporting-or-harboring-an-unlawful-alien/) (overview)
- [§2L1.1 Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2l1-1-smuggling-transporting-or-harboring-an-unlawful-alien-fy2020/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [§2L1.1 Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2l1-1-smuggling-transporting-or-harboring-an-unlawful-alien-fy2022/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/)
- [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.