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# Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:34:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:34:29.000Z
- Description: In the Eastern District of Texas, 753 people were sentenced for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 744 (99%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 16 months, compared with 7 months for immigration offenses in all 94 federal districts. Sentences within the guideline r
- 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 Texas, FY2016–2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-texas/) › Immigration Offense: Eastern District of Texas

**In brief:** In the Eastern District of Texas, 753 people were sentenced for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 744 (99%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 16 months, compared with 7 months for immigration offenses in all 94 federal districts. Sentences within the guideline range were 81% (608).

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 753 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/).

## A Median Prison Term Above the National Median

Among the 744 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 16 months. A quarter received 27 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less.

For all 94 districts together, the median for immigration offenses was 7 months, which is lower than the median here. For all offenses in this district, the median was 64.5 months, which is higher than the immigration median.

Only 6 people (less than 1%) received probation only. Nationwide, 95% of people sentenced for immigration offenses were sent to prison. These are imposed terms, and the data does not report how much time was served.

## Which Guidelines Apply?

"Immigration" is the Commission's offense type, assigned by the primary guideline. Most people, 688, were sentenced under §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States). Another 37 were sentenced under §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien).

Smaller groups were sentenced under §2L2.2 (Fraudulently Acquiring Documents Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status for Own Use) with 18, and §2L2.1 (Trafficking in a Document Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status, or a United States Passport) with 10.

Immigration was 9% of the 7,998 people sentenced in this district in the same fiscal years.

## Position Against the Guideline Range

The guideline range is the range the Commission's guidelines calculate for each case. Within the range were 81% of the sentences (608). Above the range were 10% (73).

Below the range at the government's request were 7% (50), and below the range without a government request were 3% (22).

The national figure for immigration was 62% within the range, and the district-wide figure across all offenses was 64%.

## Guilty Pleas

A total of 752 of 753 people (more than 99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 person was convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 88% had a written plea agreement, and 12% were straight pleas with no agreement.

The records give no median for trial cases, because only 1 person was convicted after a trial. Nationwide, guilty pleas were more than 99% for this offense type.

## Mandatory Minimums, Supervised Release, and Fines

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 of the 753 people (less than 1%).

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 741 people (98%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 8 people (1%), and restitution for 6 (less than 1%).

On criminal history, 27% were in the lowest category and 4% were in the highest. The military records have no comparable field.

## Yearly Counts and Medians

From fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 292 people were sentenced. From fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 461 were sentenced. Federal fiscal years begin October 1 and end the following September.

Fiscal year 2019 had the most people, with 130, and a median of 6 months. Fiscal years 2023 and 2024 each show a median of 24 months. The sheet gives no reason for the year-to-year differences.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 45               | 14 months     | 100%           |
| 2017        | 51               | 13 months     | 98%            |
| 2018        | 66               | 15.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2019        | 130              | 6 months      | 100%           |
| 2020        | 85               | 13 months     | 100%           |
| 2021        | 91               | 13 months     | 100%           |
| 2022        | 74               | 20.5 months   | 100%           |
| 2023        | 53               | 24 months     | 100%           |
| 2024        | 82               | 24 months     | 100%           |
| 2025        | 76               | 21 months     | 100%           |

## What the Data Leaves Out

The records include only people who reached sentencing. They do not cover acquittals or dismissals, and they say nothing about the circumstances of any one case.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (753). 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 Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-texas/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-eastern-district-of-texas/) (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.