Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025
Immigration cases were 7% of the 4,217 people sentenced in the District of Kansas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 291 people. The median prison term was 8 months, compared with 7 months across all 94 federal districts. Nearly all pleaded guilty: 290 of 291.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025 › Immigration Offense: District of Kansas
In brief: Immigration cases were 7% of the 4,217 people sentenced in the District of Kansas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 291 people. The median prison term was 8 months, compared with 7 months across all 94 federal districts. Nearly all pleaded guilty: 290 of 291.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 291 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 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.
Short Prison Terms for Nearly Everyone
Of the 291 people, 284 (98%) received a prison term and 7 (2%) received probation only. In all districts, 95% were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 8 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 2 months or less. The district's median for all offenses was 46 months.
Which Guidelines Applied?
The category "Immigration" is the Commission's offense type, and each person is placed in it by the primary guideline. The most common was §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States), with 206 people.
Next were §2L2.2 (Fraudulently Acquiring Documents Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status for Own Use) with 19 and §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien) with 11. 3 people were sentenced under §2L2.1 (Trafficking in a Document Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status, or a United States Passport).
Yearly Counts and Medians
The district sentenced 167 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 124 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Fiscal year 2025 had 48 people, after yearly counts of 12 to 22 in fiscal years 2020 to 2024.
Every year listed in the table had a guilty plea rate of 98% or 100%. Yearly medians ranged from 3.6 months to 14 months. These are yearly records and not a finding about any cause.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 37 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 54 | 7.6 months | 98% |
| 2018 | 38 | 3.6 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 38 | 9 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 22 | 8.9 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 12 | 10.9 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 12 | 13.5 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 17 | 11 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 13 | 14 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 48 | 12 months | 100% |
Pleas and the One Trial
There were 290 guilty pleas (more than 99%) and 1 conviction after a trial. The median after a guilty plea was 8 months.
The median after the trial was 27 months, but it rests on 1 person. Among the guilty pleas, 94% had a written plea agreement and 6% were straight pleas with no agreement.
How Sentences Compared With the Range
Within the guideline range were 57% (167) of the 291 people. Below the range at the government's request were 29% (83), below it without a government request were 11% (31), and above it were 3% (10).
For all districts, 62% were within the range. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 of the 291 people (1%).
Supervised Release and Criminal History
Supervised release followed prison for 158 people (54%), with a median term of 24 months. One person had a fine and 1 had restitution.
The lowest criminal history category, category I, applied to 33% of people. The highest, category VI, applied to 3%.
Installations and Limits
Fort Leavenworth, Fort Riley, and McConnell AFB are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, so these federal numbers do not include them.
Dismissals and acquittals are not in the Commission's data, which covers only people convicted and sentenced. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Kansas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Kansas") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (291). 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- 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.