Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025
The median prison term for immigration offenses in the District of North Dakota was 2.8 months, based on 349 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. That is lower than the 7 months for this offense type across all 94 districts. Of the 349, 344 (99%) received prison, and 306 had unlawful entry
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–20 › Immigration Offense: District of North Dakota
In brief: The median prison term for immigration offenses in the District of North Dakota was 2.8 months, based on 349 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. That is lower than the 7 months for this offense type across all 94 districts. Of the 349, 344 (99%) received prison, and 306 had unlawful entry or remaining in the United States as the primary guideline.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 349 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
Of the 349 people, 344 (99%) received a prison term, and 5 (1%) received probation only. The median prison term for those sent to prison was 2.8 months. A quarter received 1.8 months or less, and a quarter received 4.2 months or more.
Across all 94 districts, 95% of people in this type were sent to prison, and the median was 7 months. For all offenses in the District of North Dakota, the median was 36 months. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Which Guidelines Applied?
The offense type is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's category, and it sorts cases by primary guideline. The most common was §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States), with 306 cases.
Another 28 used §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien). A total of 12 used §2L2.2, which covers fraudulently acquiring documents relating to naturalization, citizenship, or legal resident status for own use, and 1 used §2L2.1, which covers trafficking in such a document or a United States Passport.
Immigration cases were 10% of the 3,337 people sentenced in the district.
Guilty Pleas and Straight Pleas
A total of 348 of the 349 people (more than 99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. Across all 94 districts, the rate was more than 99%, and for all offenses in the district it was 97%.
Among guilty pleas, 43% had a written plea agreement, and 57% were straight pleas with no agreement. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 2.8 months. For the 1 person convicted at trial and sent to prison, it was 16.6 months, which is a single case and does not show how trials generally end.
Within the Guideline Range
The sentence was within the guideline range for 243 of the 349 people (70%). It was below the range at the government's request for 75 people (21%), and below it without a government request for 30 people (9%). One person (less than 1%) was above the range.
The within-range share was 62% across all 94 districts for this type and 34% for all offenses in the district. In this district, immigration sentences were within the range more often than both. No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 347 people with that information recorded (0%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 75 people (21%), with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 5 people (1%). Restitution was ordered for 0 people (0%).
In the lowest criminal history category, category I, were 61% of the people, and less than 1% were in the highest, category VI.
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 188 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 161 people. A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the following September.
The yearly counts vary from 4 people in 2022 to 56 people in 2016. The median prison term was 4.1 months in 2023, 0.3 months in 2024, and 1.8 months in 2025. The records cannot show why the counts or medians differ from year to year.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 56 | 2.9 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 50 | 2.9 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 42 | 3.6 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 40 | 2.6 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 35 | 3.1 months | 97% |
| 2021 | 12 | 2.4 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 4 | 2.2 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2023 | 34 | 4.1 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 23 | 0.3 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 53 | 1.8 months | 100% |
What the Data Leaves Out
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. The records do not show the facts of any case.
Grand Forks AFB and Minot AFB, both in North Dakota, are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court, and these figures are federal only.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of North Dakota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "North Dakota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (349). 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 North Dakota, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Assault Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the District of North Dakota, 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.