Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025
All 157 people sentenced for immigration offenses in the Middle District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and the median was 3.3 months. That is lower than the 7 months for all 94 federal districts. 86% of sentences were within the guideline range.
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In brief: All 157 people sentenced for immigration offenses in the Middle District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and the median was 3.3 months. That is lower than the 7 months for all 94 federal districts. 86% of sentences were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 157 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, With a Median of 3.3 Months
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 157 people in its "Immigration" offense type in this district. Every one of them (100%) was sentenced to prison.
The median prison term was 3.3 months. A quarter received 6 months or more, and a quarter received 1.9 months or less.
For all districts, 95% of people in this offense type went to prison, and the median was 7 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 46 months, which is far higher than the immigration median.
Most Sentences Followed the Guideline Range
134 of the 156 people with the information (86%) were sentenced within the guideline range. 10 (6%) were below the range without a government request, 7 (4%) were below it at the government's request, and 5 (3%) were above the range.
The all-district figure for within-range sentences was 62%, so within-range sentences were more common here. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 47%.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 139 people with that information recorded.
Pleas
156 of 157 people (more than 99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. The median was 3.3 months after a guilty plea and 10 months after the 1 trial conviction.
Among the guilty pleas, 72% had a written plea agreement and 28% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Supervised Release and Criminal History
Only 46 people (29%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 12 months. No fines and no restitution were ordered.
In criminal history, 64% were in the lowest category, category I, and 0% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Guidelines and District Share
The primary guideline was §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States) for 117 people. 1 person had §2L2.2 (Fraudulently Acquiring Documents Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status for Own Use).
Immigration cases were 8% of the 2,037 people sentenced in the district.
Counts That Change a Great Deal by Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 84 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 73 people. The yearly table shows counts of 45 in 2025 and 2 in 2021, with no rows for 2022.
The medians range from 1.1 months to 16.5 months. The records do not show why counts varied this much, and no single year is a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 16 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2017 | 8 | 16.5 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2018 | 32 | 4.4 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 38 | 3.1 months | 97% |
| 2020 | 23 | 4.6 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 2 | 9 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 1 | 5.1 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 2 | 9.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2025 | 45 | 1.1 months | 100% |
Maxwell AFB and Limits
Maxwell AFB, Alabama, is in this district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Alabama (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Alabama Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (157). 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 Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, 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.