Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025
In the Eastern District of Wisconsin, 88 people were sentenced for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 88 pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 3.9 months, compared with 7 months across all 94 federal districts. The most common guideline was §2L1.2, used for 73 people.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY20 › Immigration Offense: Eastern District of Wisconsin
In brief: In the Eastern District of Wisconsin, 88 people were sentenced for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 88 pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 3.9 months, compared with 7 months across all 94 federal districts. The most common guideline was §2L1.2, used for 73 people.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 88 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
Of the 88 people, 87 (99%) received a prison term, and 1 (1%) received probation only. The median prison term was 3.9 months. A quarter received 7 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less.
A quarter at 0 months means that the shortest quarter of the recorded prison terms were 0 months. The all-districts median was 7 months, and 95% of people nationally in this offense type were sent to prison.
The median for all offenses in this district was 48 months. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Every Case Ended in a Guilty Plea
All 88 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Cases that ended in acquittal or dismissal are not in it.
Guideline Range Placement
Sentences within the guideline range were 55% (47 people) of the 86 with the information. Below the range at the government's request were 13% (11), and below the range without a government request were 33% (28). None were above the range (0).
In all districts, 62% of immigration sentences were within the range. The district's figure for all offenses was 17%, so immigration cases were within the range more often than the district's other cases.
Mandatory Minimums, Supervision, and Money Orders
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 88 people. Supervised release was ordered for 18 people (20%), with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 2 people (2%), and restitution for 2 (2%).
Which Guidelines Applied
"Immigration" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The most common primary guideline was §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States), with 73 people. Others were §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien) with 3, §2L2.1 (Trafficking in a Document Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status, or a United States Passport) with 2, and §2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline)) with 2.
These cases were 3% of the 2,907 people sentenced in the district. In the federal data, 36% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 1% in the highest, category VI.
Counts by Fiscal Year
The district sentenced 40 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 48 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Fiscal years run from October 1 to the end of September.
Yearly counts range from 3 to 19, and the medians range from 0.1 months to 15 months. With groups this small, the table does not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7 | 15 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2017 | 5 | 3.9 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2018 | 11 | 5.5 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 17 | 3.3 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 19 | 3 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 4 | 1.6 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 8 | 1.1 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2023 | 7 | 10.4 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2024 | 3 | 0.1 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 7 | 5.3 months | 7 of 7 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Wisconsin East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (88). 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.
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 Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, 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.