Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025
331 people were sentenced for immigration offenses in the Eastern District of Kentucky in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 6 months, close to the 7 months for immigration offenses in all 94 federal districts. 92% of sentences were within the guideline range.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, FY201 › Immigration Offense: Eastern District of Kentucky
In brief: 331 people were sentenced for immigration offenses in the Eastern District of Kentucky in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 6 months, close to the 7 months for immigration offenses in all 94 federal districts. 92% of sentences were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 331 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 Terms and Sentences Within the Range
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Immigration" had 331 people sentenced in this district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 330 of them (more than 99%) received a prison term. None received probation only.
The median prison term was 6 months. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 4 months or less. These are terms imposed, not time served.
For all 94 districts, the category had 217,838 people, 95% sent to prison, and a median prison term of 7 months.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
92% of the sentences (303 people) were within the advisory guideline range. Less than 1% (1) were below it at the government's request, and 5% (18) were below it without a government request. 3% (9) were above the range.
In all districts, 62% of immigration sentences were within the range. For all offenses in the Eastern District of Kentucky, the figure was 54%.
Guilty Pleas Without Plea Agreements
327 of 331 people (99%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 6 months after a guilty plea and 8 months after a trial, based on 4 people.
Straight pleas were slightly more common than written agreements here. 48% of those who pleaded guilty had a written plea agreement, and 51% entered a straight plea with no agreement.
Mandatory Minimums, Release, Fines, and Restitution
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 6 of the 320 people with that information recorded (2%). 311 people (94%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 12 months.
A fine was ordered for 2 people (less than 1%), and restitution for 1 (less than 1%).
Primary Guidelines
The most common primary guideline was §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States), used for 271 people. §2L2.2, covering fraudulently acquiring documents relating to naturalization, citizenship, or legal resident status for own use, was used for 20. §2L2.1, covering trafficking in such a document or a United States passport, was used for 8. §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien) was used for 3.
Criminal History and Share of Cases
43% were in the lowest criminal history category, Category I, and 2% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Immigration cases were 8% of the 4,374 people sentenced in the district. All offenses in the district had a median prison term of 70 months and a guilty plea rate of 93%.
Yearly Counts
127 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 204 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly table shows a wide range, from 7 people in 2017 to 88 in 2019.
The median prison term is 4.2 months in 2019, the year with the most people, and 12 months in both 2023 and 2024. The records do not show what changed in the cases from year to year.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 9 | 6.3 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2017 | 7 | 12 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2018 | 23 | 8.3 months | 96% |
| 2019 | 88 | 4.2 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 24 | 6.2 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 57 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 26 | 6.1 months | 92% |
| 2023 | 29 | 12 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 28 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 40 | 9 months | 100% |
What the Records Cannot Show
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Cases that ended in acquittal or dismissal are not included, and the data does not describe the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Kentucky (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Kentucky East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (331). 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 Eastern District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Eastern District of Kentucky, 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.