Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025
All 717 people sentenced for immigration offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 pleaded guilty, and 693 (97%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 5.3 months, lower than the 7 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. 85% of the guilty pleas wer
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016– › Immigration Offense: District of South Carolina
In brief: All 717 people sentenced for immigration offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 pleaded guilty, and 693 (97%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 5.3 months, lower than the 7 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. 85% of the guilty pleas were straight pleas with no plea agreement.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 717 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.
Plea Agreements Were Uncommon
717 of 717 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial. Among those guilty pleas, 14% had a written plea agreement and 85% were straight pleas with no agreement.
In the District of South Carolina overall, 98% of people pleaded guilty. For this offense type in all districts, more than 99% did. The data does not describe what led a person to plead without an agreement.
Short Prison Terms
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 717 people under the offense type "Immigration." 693 (97%) received a prison term, and 16 (2%) received probation only.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 5.3 months. A quarter received 8.7 months or more, and a quarter received 2.3 months or less. For all offenses in the district, the median was 48.2 months. These are the terms imposed, not time served.
The yearly table shows medians from 3.8 months in fiscal year 2020 to 8 months in fiscal year 2022.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 82 | 6.6 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 80 | 7.4 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 146 | 5.3 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 158 | 4.6 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 125 | 3.8 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 22 | 7.5 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 10 | 8 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 21 | 5.5 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 24 | 7.4 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 49 | 5.8 months | 100% |
Sentences Within the Guideline Range
Of the 709 people with guideline information, 82% (579) were sentenced within the range. 4% (29) were below the range at the government's request, and 14% (98) were below it without a government request. Less than 1% (3) were above the range.
The within-range share was higher than the 62% for this offense type in all districts and higher than the 47% for all offenses in the District of South Carolina.
The Guidelines Involved
The offense type is the Commission's category. The primary guideline for 620 people was §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States). 50 people had §2L2.2 (Fraudulently Acquiring Documents Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status for Own Use).
23 people had §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien), and 14 had §2L2.1 (Trafficking in a Document Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status, or a United States Passport).
Mandatory Minimums, Release, and Criminal History
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 711 people with that information recorded (less than 1%). 416 people (58%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 12 months.
A fine was ordered for 4 people (less than 1%), and restitution for 3 (less than 1%). On criminal history, 47% were in the lowest category, category I, and less than 1% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Cases Per Year
These cases were 10% of the 6,874 people sentenced in the district. There were 466 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 251 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly table shows 158 people in fiscal year 2019, 125 in fiscal year 2020, and 22 in fiscal year 2021.
The records do not show what caused the change in counts.
Limits of the Records
Joint Base Charleston, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and Shaw AFB lie within this district. Courts-martial take place in military courts and are not part of these federal figures.
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Dismissals and acquittals are not included, and the data does not describe the facts of individual cases.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Carolina") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (717). 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 South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the District of South Carolina, 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.