Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025
162 people were sentenced for immigration offenses in the District of Vermont in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 93% received a prison term, but the median prison term was 0 months. For immigration cases in all 94 districts, the median was 7 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025 › Immigration Offense: District of Vermont
In brief: 162 people were sentenced for immigration offenses in the District of Vermont in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 93% received a prison term, but the median prison term was 0 months. For immigration cases in all 94 districts, the median was 7 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 162 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.
A Median Prison Term of 0 Months
151 of the 162 people (93%) received a prison term, and 9 (6%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 0 months. A quarter received 4.3 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less. The records here do not explain how a group in which 93% received a prison term has a median of 0 months.
The median was 0 months after a guilty plea and 18.2 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on only 2 people.
Comparison With All Districts
For immigration in all 94 districts, the Commission counts 217,838 people. 95% were sent to prison, the median prison term was 7 months, and 62% of sentences were within the guideline range. Vermont's median was lower than 7 months, and its share within the range, 54%, was lower than 62%.
Immigration cases were 10% of the 1,619 people sentenced in the district. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 18 months and 21% of sentences were within the range.
Which Guidelines Applied
The most common primary guideline was §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien), with 77 people. §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States) applied to 29. §2L2.1 (Trafficking in a Document Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status, or a United States Passport) applied to 2, and §2L2.2 applied to 1.
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it.
Guideline Range Details
Of 159 people with the information, 54% (86) were sentenced within the guideline range. 24% (38) were below the range at the government's request, and 22% (35) were below the range without a government request. None was above the range.
Pleas, Mandatory Minimums, and Release
160 of 162 people (99%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. 89% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 8% were straight pleas with no agreement.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 of the 152 people with that information recorded (2%). 23 people (14%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 12 months. A fine was ordered for 10 people (6%). 78% of the group were in criminal history category I. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts Vary
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 85 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 77. The fiscal year runs from October 1 to the end of September. The table shows 5 people in each of 2020, 2021, and 2022, and 21 or more in 2023 and 2024. The yearly median is 0 months in most years. The records do not show why the counts changed.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 14 | 6.4 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 22 | 0 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 26 | 0 months | 96% |
| 2019 | 23 | 0 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 5 | 0 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2021 | 5 | 0.1 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 21 | 0 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 23 | 0 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 18 | 2.8 months | 94% |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data reports prison terms imposed, not time served. It does not describe the facts of any case, and it does not show whether a person was also subject to removal or other immigration action after sentencing.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Vermont (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Vermont") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (162). 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 Vermont, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Possession Sentences in the District of Vermont, 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.