Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025
All 179 people sentenced for immigration offenses in the Middle District of Tennessee in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, with a median of 8 months. The median across all 94 federal districts was 7 months. Of the 179, 178 pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial.
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In brief: All 179 people sentenced for immigration offenses in the Middle District of Tennessee in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, with a median of 8 months. The median across all 94 federal districts was 7 months. Of the 179, 178 pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 179 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.
A Short Median Term for Every Person Sentenced
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 179 people in the offense type it labels "Immigration" for this district. Each one (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. Across all districts, 95% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 8 months. A quarter received 16.5 months or more, and a quarter received 3.6 months or less. The national median was 7 months, so the median here is higher, but only by a small margin. For all offenses in this district, the median was 50 months.
Most Cases Used One Guideline
The Commission assigns the offense type from the primary guideline. In this district, 145 cases used §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States). Another 5 used §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien), and 4 used §2L2.2 (Fraudulently Acquiring Documents Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status for Own Use).
Immigration cases were 6% of the 2,879 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 174 people with that information recorded, which is less than 1%.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Of the 179 people, 72 (40%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 64 (36%) were sentenced below it without a government request, and 42 (23%) were sentenced below it at the government's request. One person, less than 1%, was sentenced above the range.
Across all districts, 62% of immigration sentences were within the range. Within-range sentences were less common here. For all offenses in this district, 26% were within the range, so this offense type was within the range more often than the district's cases overall.
Pleas and Plea Agreements
Of the 179 people, 178 (more than 99%) pleaded guilty. Across all districts, the national rate was also more than 99%. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 8 months. The one person convicted at trial received 27 months, which is a single case and cannot be compared with the plea group.
Among the guilty pleas, 79% had a written plea agreement, and 20% were straight pleas. A straight plea share of 20% is much higher than in most offense types in this district, where it was 5% or less in firearms and drug trafficking cases.
Supervised Release and Other Penalties
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 76 people (42%), with a median term of 24 months. A fine was ordered for 3 (2%), and restitution for 1, which is less than 1%.
In the criminal history records, 19% were in the lowest category, category I, and 3% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts
The district sentenced 122 people in this group in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 57 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The count was 46 in fiscal year 2019 and 3 in fiscal year 2021.
Yearly medians range from 3.4 months in 2023 to 22.8 months in 2024. Several years have fewer than 10 people, so the table does not show a trend. The records cannot show whether the lower counts after 2019 reflect fewer offenses, fewer prosecutions, or other changes.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 17 | 17 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 27 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 32 | 7.3 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 46 | 7 months | 98% |
| 2020 | 18 | 7 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 3 | 8 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 11 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 4 | 3.4 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 6 | 22.8 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2025 | 15 | 4 months | 100% |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
The records do not describe the facts of any case, so they cannot show what led to terms at the high or low end.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Tennessee (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Tennessee Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (179). 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 Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Middle District of Tennessee, 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.