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# Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-massachusetts/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:59:24.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:59:24.000Z
- Description: 534 people were sentenced for immigration offenses in the District of Massachusetts in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 8 months, compared with 7 months for immigration cases in all 94 federal districts. 70% of guilty pleas had no written plea agreement.
- 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 District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-massachusetts/) › Immigration Offense: District of Massachusetts

**In brief:** 534 people were sentenced for immigration offenses in the District of Massachusetts in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The median prison term was 8 months, compared with 7 months for immigration cases in all 94 federal districts. 70% of guilty pleas had no written plea agreement.

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 534 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/).

## Most Guilty Pleas Had No Written Agreement

527 of the 534 people (99%) pleaded guilty, and 7 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 28% had a written plea agreement and 70% were straight pleas with no agreement.

The median prison term was 7.4 months after a guilty plea and 50.5 months after a trial, based on 6 people. The trial group is small, so its median describes only those 6 people.

## Prison Terms in Context

514 people (96%) received a prison term, and 13 (2%) received probation only. The median prison term was 8 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 0.4 months or less.

For immigration cases in all districts, the median was 7 months, and 95% were sent to prison. The median for all offenses in the District of Massachusetts was 30 months. Immigration cases here were lower than that district-wide median.

## Which Immigration Guidelines Applied

"Immigration" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, so it groups several kinds of cases. The most common primary guideline was §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States) with 331 people. Next was §2L2.2 (Fraudulently Acquiring Documents Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status for Own Use) with 61.

§2L2.1 (Trafficking in a Document Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status, or a United States Passport) had 26 people, and §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien) had 4\. Immigration cases were 11% of the 4,847 people sentenced in the district.

## Counts Fell and Then Rose

The yearly table shows 87 people sentenced in fiscal year 2016 and 16 in fiscal year 2022\. In fiscal year 2025 the count was 91\. A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends at the close of September.

309 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 225 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The median prison term was 5 months in fiscal year 2025 and 12 months in fiscal years 2016, 2022, 2023, and 2024\. The records do not show what is behind these changes.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 87               | 12 months     | 100%           |
| 2017        | 83               | 6 months      | 100%           |
| 2018        | 74               | 6 months      | 99%            |
| 2019        | 65               | 9 months      | 97%            |
| 2020        | 30               | 6.4 months    | 97%            |
| 2021        | 28               | 10 months     | 100%           |
| 2022        | 16               | 12 months     | 100%           |
| 2023        | 28               | 12 months     | 100%           |
| 2024        | 32               | 12 months     | 97%            |
| 2025        | 91               | 5 months      | 98%            |

## Position Against the Guideline Range

Of the 530 people with that information, 281 (53%) were within the guideline range. 85 (16%) were below it at the government's request, and 154 (29%) were below it without a government request. 10 (2%) were above the range.

In all districts, 62% of immigration sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 29%. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 19 of the 459 people with that information recorded (4%).

## Supervised Release and Criminal History

380 people (71%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 24 months. A fine was ordered for 9 people (2%) and restitution for 6 (1%).

38% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 3% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## What the Records Do Not Show

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.

The records give no case facts and do not show why sentences were set where they were.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Massachusetts (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Massachusetts") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (534). 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 District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-massachusetts/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-massachusetts/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-massachusetts/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-massachusetts/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-district-of-massachusetts/) (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.