Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025
In the District of Oregon, 451 people were sentenced for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 4 months, which is lower than the 7 months for immigration offenses in all 94 federal districts together. The number of people sentenced each year is lower in the la
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025 › Immigration Offense: District of Oregon
In brief: In the District of Oregon, 451 people were sentenced for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 4 months, which is lower than the 7 months for immigration offenses in all 94 federal districts together. The number of people sentenced each year is lower in the later fiscal years than in the earlier ones.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 451 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.
Cases by Fiscal Year
The yearly table shows the change in volume . 322 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 129 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The fiscal year runs October 1 to the end of September.
The later years have small counts, from 8 to 21 people in each of fiscal years 2021 to 2025. Medians based on so few people should not be read as a trend. The records show the lower counts but not why they are lower.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 88 | 2 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 71 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 80 | 6.9 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 83 | 3.1 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 54 | 3.5 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 17 | 5.6 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 16 | 6.7 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 8 | 12 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2024 | 13 | 9 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 21 | 2.5 months | 95% |
Short Prison Terms
Of the 451 people, 447 (more than 99%) received a prison term, and 3 (less than 1%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 4 months. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 0.2 months or less.
For all 94 federal districts, 95% were sent to prison. The median for all offenses in the District of Oregon was 32 months, which is higher than the 4 months for immigration offenses. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Sentences Within the Guideline Range
For 53% of the 451 people (240), the sentence was within the guideline range. Below the range at the government's request was 24% (108), and below it without a government request was 23% (103). None was above the range.
Within-range sentences were more common here than in all offenses in the district, where the figure was 22%. They were less common than across all districts for immigration offenses, where it was 62%.
Which Guideline and What Share of the District
The Commission's "Immigration" offense type is its own category, and these cases were 10% of the 4,319 people sentenced in the district. The most common primary guideline was §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States), with 331 people.
A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of the 449 people with that information recorded. This is different from many other offense types in federal court.
Pleas, Supervision, and Criminal History
450 of 451 people (more than 99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement and 4% were straight pleas with no agreement.
397 people (88%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. No fine was ordered, and restitution was ordered for 1 person (less than 1%).
By criminal history, 18% were in the lowest category and 4% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
What the Records Cannot Show
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. The numbers do not show the facts of any case or the reasons for any sentence, and they do not show how many people were charged but not sentenced. The cornerstone page for federal sentences in the District of Oregon gives the numbers for all offense types.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Oregon (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Oregon") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (451). 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 Oregon, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Oregon, 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.