Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025
Immigration cases were 77% of the 29,766 people sentenced in the District of New Mexico in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 23,014 people were sentenced for immigration offenses, and the median prison term was 2.2 months. For all 94 federal districts together, the median for this offense type was 7 months
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 › Immigration Offense: District of New Mexico
In brief: Immigration cases were 77% of the 29,766 people sentenced in the District of New Mexico in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 23,014 people were sentenced for immigration offenses, and the median prison term was 2.2 months. For all 94 federal districts together, the median for this offense type was 7 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 23,014 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.
Immigration Dominates the District's Caseload
The U.S. Sentencing Commission groups cases into offense types, and Immigration is one of them. In this district, 23,014 people fell into it. All 94 districts together reported 217,838 people.
Because these cases make up most of the district, the district-wide figures for all offenses track them closely. The median prison term for all offenses here was 3.5 months. Sentences within the guideline range were 59% for all offenses, compared with 66% for immigration cases alone.
Short Prison Terms and Few Trials
22,921 people (more than 99%) received a prison term, and 64 (less than 1%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, a quarter received 6 months or more, and a quarter received 1.2 months or less.
23,006 people pleaded guilty, and 8 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 2.2 months after a guilty plea and 19.4 months after a trial. The trial figure covers only 8 people.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 8 of the 23,004 people with that information recorded.
Many Pleas Had No Written Agreement
Among guilty pleas, 45% had a written plea agreement and 55% were straight pleas with no agreement. A straight plea is a guilty plea with no agreement with the government.
Guilty pleas were more than 99% both for these cases and for all offenses in the district.
Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
Of the 23,005 people with this information, 66% (15,223) were within the guideline range. 29% (6,570) were below it at the government's request, and 5% (1,114) were below it without a government request. Fewer than 1% (98) were above it.
Across all districts, 62% of sentences in this offense type were within the range.
Which Guidelines Applied?
The Commission lists one primary guideline per case. §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States) was listed for 20,646 cases. §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien) was listed for 2,216.
§2L2.2 (Fraudulently Acquiring Documents Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status for Own Use) was listed for 138. §2L2.1 (Trafficking in a Document Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status, or a United States Passport) was listed for 4.
After Prison, Fines, and Criminal History
6,992 people (30%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 24 months. A fine was ordered for 25 people and restitution for 5, each less than 1%.
61% were in criminal history category I, the lowest. Less than 1% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
How the Numbers Changed by Year
13,452 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 9,562 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the following September.
The yearly median was 1.3 to 1.8 months in 2016 through 2020. It was 8 months in 2021 and 6 months in each of 2022, 2023, and 2024. It was 3.4 months in 2025. The count was 827 people in 2021 and 4,078 in 2016. The records do not show why these figures moved.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4,078 | 1.4 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 2,860 | 1.6 months | more than 99% |
| 2018 | 3,285 | 1.3 months | more than 99% |
| 2019 | 3,229 | 1.6 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 2,661 | 1.8 months | more than 99% |
| 2021 | 827 | 8 months | more than 99% |
| 2022 | 1,392 | 6 months | more than 99% |
| 2023 | 1,318 | 6 months | more than 99% |
| 2024 | 1,173 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 2,191 | 3.4 months | more than 99% |
Scope of This Post
Cannon AFB, Holloman AFB, and Kirtland AFB are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and this post reports only federal sentencing. The data excludes acquittals and dismissals, and prison terms are those ordered, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Mexico (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Mexico") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (23,014). 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 New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Assault Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of New Mexico, 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.