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# Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-central-district-of-california/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:36:44.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:36:44.000Z
- Description: In the Central District of California, 55% of the 984 people sentenced for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a sentence below the guideline range at the government's request. Only 29% were within the range. The median prison term was 15 months, compared with 7 months for all
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-central-district-of-california/) › Immigration Offense: Central District of California

**In brief:** In the Central District of California, 55% of the 984 people sentenced for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a sentence below the guideline range at the government's request. Only 29% were within the range. The median prison term was 15 months, compared with 7 months for all districts.

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 984 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 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/).

## Below the Range at the Government's Request

The guideline range is calculated under the federal Sentencing Guidelines. Of 977 people with the information, 55% (534) were sentenced below the range at the government's request. Another 29% (282) were within the range, 15% (149) were below it without a government request, and 1% (12) were above it.

For this offense type in all 94 districts, 62% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 29%. The share within the range here was lower than the all-district share.

## Prison Terms

Of the 984 people, 923 (94%) received a prison term and 40 (4%) received probation only. The median prison term was 15 months. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less.

For all districts, 95% of 217,838 people were sent to prison, and the median was 7 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 37 months. These are terms imposed, not time served.

## Which Guidelines Were Used

"Immigration" is the Sentencing Commission's offense category. The most common primary guideline was §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States), with 709 people.

Next were §2L2.2 (Fraudulently Acquiring Documents Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status for Own Use) with 82, §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien) with 73, and §2L2.1 (Trafficking in a Document Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status, or a United States Passport) with 40\. Immigration cases were 10% of the 9,958 people sentenced in the district.

## Guilty Pleas and Trials

Guilty pleas made up 962 of 984 cases (98%), and 22 people were convicted after a trial. For all districts the share was more than 99%, and for all offenses in this district it was 95%.

The median prison term was 15 months after a guilty plea and 21 months after a trial, based on 22 people at trial. Among the guilty pleas, 91% had a written plea agreement and 9% were straight pleas. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 39 of the 977 people with that information recorded (4%).

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 855 people (87%), with a median term of 36 months. One person (less than 1%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 27 people (3%), and restitution for 5 (less than 1%).

In the lowest criminal history category were 19% of the people, and 11% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Counts and Medians by Fiscal Year

The district sentenced 534 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 450 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.

Yearly counts in the table range from 24 in 2024 to 171 in 2019\. The 2025 row shows 113 people and a median of 3 months, the lowest in the table. The records do not show what drove any change from year to year.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 102              | 30 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2017        | 105              | 13 months     | 97%            |
| 2018        | 156              | 12 months     | 99%            |
| 2019        | 171              | 15 months     | 98%            |
| 2020        | 101              | 18 months     | 98%            |
| 2021        | 81               | 18 months     | 100%           |
| 2022        | 82               | 24 months     | 95%            |
| 2023        | 49               | 18 months     | 88%            |
| 2024        | 24               | 12 months     | 96%            |
| 2025        | 113              | 3 months      | 100%           |

## Limits of the Records

The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included, and the conduct in each case is not described.

Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court, so these figures are federal only.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Central District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California Central") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (984). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.

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)
- [Federal Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-central-district-of-california/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-central-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-central-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-central-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-central-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [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.