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# §2L1.1 Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2l1-1-smuggling-transporting-or-harboring-an-unlawful-alien-fy2024/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:06:36.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:06:36.000Z
- Description: In fiscal year 2024, 52% of the 4,345 people sentenced under §2L1.1 received a sentence within the guideline range, and 33% were below it at the government's request. The median prison term was 12 months. The within-range share was higher than the 40% in fiscal year 2023.
- 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: FY2024

**In brief:** In fiscal year 2024, 52% of the 4,345 people sentenced under §2L1.1 received a sentence within the guideline range, and 33% were below it at the government's request. The median prison term was 12 months. The within-range share was higher than the 40% in fiscal year 2023.

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 4,345 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024\. 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/).

## A Higher Share Within the Range

The Commission had range information for all 4,345 people. Within the range: 52% (2,281). Below the range at the government's request: 33% (1,440). Below the range without a government request: 11% (457). Above the range: 4% (167).

In fiscal year 2023, 40% were within the range, and in fiscal year 2025, 53% were. These are the neighboring years for this guideline. The records show the change but cannot show a reason for it.

Across every guideline in fiscal year 2024, 46% of sentences were within the range.

## Prison Terms in Fiscal Year 2024

The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024\. Of 4,345 people sentenced, 3,891 (90%) went to prison, and 374 (9%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

The median prison term was 12 months. A quarter of those sentenced to prison received 21 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less. These are the terms the court imposed.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 85 people (2%).

## Pleas and Trials

Guilty pleas were entered by 4,311 people, and 34 were convicted after a trial. After a plea, the median prison term was 12 months. After a trial it was 22.6 months, based on 32 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.

Among those who pleaded guilty, 76% had a written plea agreement and 24% were straight pleas. The Commission's counts for plea agreements apply only to those who pleaded guilty.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution

After prison, 3,533 people (81%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 715 people (16%). Restitution was ordered for 23 (less than 1%).

## Criminal History in the Group

Category I, the lowest criminal history category, held 72% of the people. Category VI, the highest, held 3%. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Longer Context

The guideline title is "Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien," and the Commission lists the cases under its Immigration offense type. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart, so only federal numbers are reported.

The year before had 4,731 people and a median of 12 months. The year after had 3,957 people and a median of 12 months. Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the guideline covers 35,550 people, with a median of 12 months and 44% within the range.

In fiscal year 2024, all guidelines together covered 61,678 people with a median prison term of 30 months. The table lists each year for §2L1.1.

Only convicted and sentenced people are counted. The data does not show case facts or reasons.

| 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 2024 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2L1.1 (4,345), 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 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2l1-1-smuggling-transporting-or-harboring-an-unlawful-alien-fy2023/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [§2L1.1 Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2l1-1-smuggling-transporting-or-harboring-an-unlawful-alien-fy2025/) (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.