Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025
The District of Montana sentenced 112 people for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 4.9 months, compared with 7 months for this offense type in all 94 districts, and 46% were ordered to serve supervised release after prison.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025 › Immigration Offense: District of Montana
In brief: The District of Montana sentenced 112 people for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 4.9 months, compared with 7 months for this offense type in all 94 districts, and 46% were ordered to serve supervised release after prison.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 112 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 and Little Supervised Release
Of the 112 people, 107 (96%) received a prison term and 5 (4%) received probation only. The median prison term was 4.9 months. A quarter received 7.9 months or more, and a quarter received 1.9 months or less.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 52 people (46%), with a median term of 12 months.
Comparison With All Districts
In all 94 districts, 217,838 people were sentenced for immigration offenses, 95% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 7 months. The Montana median is lower.
For all offenses in the District of Montana, the median prison term was 40 months. Immigration cases were 3% of the 3,524 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
Of the 111 people with the information recorded, 73 (66%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 5 (5%) received a term below the range at the government's request, and 33 (30%) received a term below it without that request. None was sentenced above the range.
In all districts, 62% of immigration sentences were within the range, which is about the same as the Montana share. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 107 people with that information recorded.
Pleas and Trials
A total of 109 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 4.9 months after a guilty plea and 3.9 months after a trial, but the trial figure is based on only 3 people.
Among the guilty pleas, 47% had a written plea agreement, and 53% were straight pleas with no agreement. Straight pleas were more common than written plea agreements in this group.
Which Guidelines Applied
The Commission's offense type is "Immigration." The most common primary guideline was §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States), with 81 people. Next was §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien), with 12 people.
Also listed were §2L2.2 (Fraudulently Acquiring Documents Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status for Own Use) with 5 people, and §2L2.1 (Trafficking in a Document Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status, or a United States Passport) with 2 people.
Fines, Criminal History, and Yearly Counts
A fine was ordered for 1 person (less than 1%), and restitution for 0. In criminal history category I, the lowest, 57% of the group were placed, and 2% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 48 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 64 people. The yearly counts in the table range from 3 to 23 people, so the yearly medians do not by themselves show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 7.6 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2017 | 4 | 11 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2018 | 18 | 5 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 21 | 1.8 months | 90% |
| 2020 | 17 | 2.5 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 7 | 9.5 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2022 | 5 | 8 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 9 | 6.9 months | 8 of 9 |
| 2024 | 3 | 5.8 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 23 | 3.2 months | 100% |
What the Records Cannot Show
Malmstrom AFB, Montana, is in this district, and courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The records do not show how long anyone was held before sentencing.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Montana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Montana") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (112). 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.
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 Montana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Assault Sentences in the District of Montana, 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.