Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025
160 people in the District of Minnesota were sentenced for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 12 months, which is higher than the 7 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts together. The 2025 row of the yearly table has 45 people and a media
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025 › Immigration Offense: District of Minnesota
In brief: 160 people in the District of Minnesota were sentenced for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 12 months, which is higher than the 7 months for this offense type in all 94 federal districts together. The 2025 row of the yearly table has 45 people and a median of 0 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 160 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.
Reading the 2025 Row First
The yearly table for this offense type shows 45 people sentenced in fiscal year 2025, with a median prison term of 0 months and 96% guilty pleas. The other years in the table each have between 3 and 25 people.
The records give no case facts, so they cannot show what produced the large 2025 count or the 0-month median. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 25 | 24.5 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 22 | 17.5 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 14 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 15 | 16.5 months | 93% |
| 2020 | 17 | 10 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 9 | 8.5 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2022 | 5 | 15 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 3 | 10 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 5 | 9 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2025 | 45 | 0 months | 96% |
Overall Prison Terms
156 of the 160 people (98%) received a prison term, and 4 (3%) received probation only. In all districts, 95% were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison, the median was 12 months. A quarter received 21 months or more, and a quarter received 2 months or less. For all offenses in the District of Minnesota, the median was 70 months. These are terms imposed, not time served.
Which Guidelines Apply
The Commission assigns the offense type by primary guideline. In Minnesota, 108 people were sentenced under §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States). 12 were sentenced under §2L2.2 (Fraudulently Acquiring Documents Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status for Own Use), and 7 under §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien). 1 was sentenced under §2L2.1 (Trafficking in a Document Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status, or a United States Passport).
Immigration cases were 4% of the 3,630 people sentenced in the district.
Almost Every Case Ended in a Guilty Plea
157 of 160 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 78 months after a trial, based on 3 people. The trial group is too small for a general conclusion.
Guilty pleas were more than 99% in all districts and 94% for all offenses in this district. 89% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 4% were straight pleas.
Within the Guideline Range More Often Than the District Overall
94 people (59%) were sentenced within the range. 36 (23%) were below it without a government request, and 29 (18%) were below it at the government's request. 1 person was above the range.
The within-range share was 62% for immigration in all districts and 31% for all offenses in this district. A mandatory minimum applied to 4 of the 147 people with that information recorded (3%).
Supervision, Fines, and Criminal History
80 people (50%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person, and restitution for 3 (2%).
28% were in the lowest criminal history category and 5% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Period
76 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 84 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly medians from 2016 to 2024 run from 8.5 months to 24.5 months. The records cannot show why the counts and medians differ between years.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Minnesota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Minnesota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (160). 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 Minnesota, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Minnesota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Minnesota, 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.