> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-eastern-district-of-pennsylvania/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:00:36.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:00:36.000Z - Description: In the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 524 people were sentenced for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, which is 10% of the district's 5,462 people. The median prison term was 12 months, and more than 99% pleaded guilty. 68% of guilty pleas were straight pleas with no written plea - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, F](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-pennsylvania/) › Immigration Offense: Eastern District of Pennsylvania **In brief:** In the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 524 people were sentenced for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, which is 10% of the district's 5,462 people. The median prison term was 12 months, and more than 99% pleaded guilty. 68% of guilty pleas were straight pleas with no written plea agreement. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 524 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## Plea Agreements Were Uncommon Among the guilty pleas in immigration cases, 31% had a written plea agreement and 68% were straight pleas with no agreement. A straight plea means the person pleaded guilty without a written agreement with the government. For all offenses in the district, 94% pleaded guilty. 521 of the 524 people (more than 99%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 12 months. After a trial it was 24 months, based on 3 people. ## Prison Terms and Probation 503 people (96%) received a prison term, and 15 (3%) received probation only. The median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 4.3 months or less, and a quarter received 19 months or more. For immigration offenses in all 94 federal districts, 217,838 people were sentenced and the median prison term was 7 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 42 months. ## The Guidelines Behind These Cases "Immigration" is a U.S. Sentencing Commission offense type, assigned from each case's primary guideline. The most common was §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States), with 451 cases. 41 cases used §2L2.2 (Fraudulently Acquiring Documents Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status for Own Use). 16 used §2L2.1 (Trafficking in a Document Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status, or a United States Passport), and 10 used §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 10 people (2%). ## Most Sentences Were Within the Guideline Range The guideline range is the sentence range calculated under the Sentencing Guidelines. 66% of sentences (345) were within it. 11% (57) were below it at the government's request, and 20% (106) were below it without a government request. 3% (14) were above the range. In all districts, 62% of immigration sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 34%. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History 299 people (57%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 24 months. A fine was ordered for 26 (5%), and restitution for 6 (1%). 30% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 2% were in the highest, category VI. ## Fewer Cases in Recent Years Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 292 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 232\. The table shows 86 in 2018, 19 in 2022, and 60 in 2025. Yearly medians range from 4.3 months to 18 months. The records cannot show why the counts or the medians changed. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 46 | 12 months | 100% | | 2017 | 78 | 12 months | 99% | | 2018 | 86 | 12 months | 100% | | 2019 | 82 | 6 months | 99% | | 2020 | 67 | 6.9 months | 100% | | 2021 | 34 | 12 months | 100% | | 2022 | 19 | 18 months | 100% | | 2023 | 21 | 18 months | 95% | | 2024 | 31 | 18 months | 100% | | 2025 | 60 | 4.3 months | 100% | ## What the Records Do Not Cover Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Dismissals and acquittals are not in the data, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The data does not record what happened after a prison term ended. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (524). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-pennsylvania/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-pennsylvania/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-pennsylvania/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-pennsylvania/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-eastern-district-of-pennsylvania/) (same district, other offense type) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.