Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025
In the Eastern District of Michigan, 1,091 people were sentenced for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 3.6 months, compared with 7 months for all 94 federal districts. Nearly all pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial.
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In brief: In the Eastern District of Michigan, 1,091 people were sentenced for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 3.6 months, compared with 7 months for all 94 federal districts. Nearly all pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,091 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 and Nearly Universal Guilty Pleas
Of the 1,091 people sentenced for immigration offenses, 1,071 (98%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 3.6 months. A quarter received 6 months or more, and a quarter received 2 months or less.
For all 94 districts, the median for this offense type was 7 months, so the district figure is lower. For all offenses in this district, the median was 36 months.
Guilty pleas accounted for 1,088 people (more than 99%), and 3 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 3.6 months. After a trial, it was 24 months, based on 3 people.
Straight Pleas Were the Norm
Among guilty pleas, 83% were straight pleas with no agreement, and 15% had a written plea agreement.
The Commission's records do not show why this offense type uses plea agreements less often.
Guidelines in This Category
"Immigration" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, assigned from the primary guideline. In this district, 939 people were sentenced mainly under §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States).
Another 34 were sentenced under §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien). The records also list 45 people under §2L2.2 and 6 under §2L2.1, which both cover documents.
Immigration cases were 15% of the 7,508 people sentenced in the district across all offense types.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
The guideline position is known for 1,075 people. Within the range were 80% (857). Below the range at the government's request were 2% (19), and below the range without a government request were 18% (195). Above the range were less than 1% (4).
For all 94 districts, 62% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 38% were. The share within the range here is higher than both.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 10 of the 1,026 people with that information recorded (less than 1%).
Probation, Supervised Release, and Other Terms
Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 19 people (2%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 519 (48%), with a median term of 12 months.
A fine was ordered for 15 people (1%) and restitution for 2 (less than 1%). In criminal history, 61% were in the lowest category (category I) and less than 1% in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Year
There were 573 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 518 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Fiscal years begin on October 1.
The table shows yearly counts ranging from 24 in 2022 to 211 in 2025. Medians range from 2.6 months to 10 months. The records do not show why counts or medians changed from year to year.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 95 | 5 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 129 | 4 months | more than 99% |
| 2018 | 193 | 3.7 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 156 | 3 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 127 | 2.6 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 55 | 3 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 24 | 10 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 46 | 5 months | 98% |
| 2024 | 55 | 5.6 months | 98% |
| 2025 | 211 | 3.3 months | 100% |
What the Data Leaves Out
Only people convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission's data. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served, so the reported terms may differ from time actually spent in custody.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Michigan East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (1,091). 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 Michigan, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Eastern District of Michigan, 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.