Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025
The Northern District of Oklahoma sentenced 408 people for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 8 months, compared with 7 months for all 94 federal districts. Counts rose from 21 people in fiscal year 2021 and 13 in 2022 to 95 in 2025.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Oklahoma, FY20 › Immigration Offense: Northern District of Oklahoma
In brief: The Northern District of Oklahoma sentenced 408 people for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 8 months, compared with 7 months for all 94 federal districts. Counts rose from 21 people in fiscal year 2021 and 13 in 2022 to 95 in 2025.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 408 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.
Counts by Fiscal Year
The group has 105 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 303 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. In the yearly table, the count was 13 in 2022, 66 in 2023, 78 in 2024, and 95 in 2025. Earlier years had 21 to 30 people.
A fiscal year begins October 1. The records do not show why the counts changed, and the data cannot say how many cases were brought or declined.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 23 | 9 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 23 | 14 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 30 | 7 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 29 | 6.6 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 30 | 7.2 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 21 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 13 | 15 months | 92% |
| 2023 | 66 | 7.9 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 78 | 8 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 95 | 8 months | 100% |
Prison Terms
Prison terms went to 406 of the 408 people (more than 99%). Probation only went to 2 (less than 1%). The median term was 8 months. The longest quarter of terms were 18 months or more, and the shortest quarter were 4.3 months or less.
The all-district count for immigration is 217,838 people, of whom 95% went to prison with a median of 7 months. Counting every offense type, this district's median was 37 months. Immigration cases were 12% of the 3,400 people sentenced in the district.
Sentences Within the Guideline Range
Within the guideline range were 73% (299) of the 407 people with that information. Another 6% (26) were below it at the government's request, and 17% (70) were below it without a request. 3% (12) were above the range.
Nationally the within-range share was 62%, and across this district's offense types it was 45%.
Pleas and Mandatory Minimums
Nearly everyone pleaded guilty: 407 people (more than 99%). 1 person went to trial. After a guilty plea the median was 8 months, while the sheet lists 0 months for the single trial case.
Written plea agreements covered 59% of the guilty pleas, and the other 41% were straight pleas. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 of the 406 people with that information (less than 1%).
Which Guidelines Applied
"Immigration" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The primary guideline was §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States) for 389 people. It was §2L2.2 (Fraudulently Acquiring Documents Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status for Own Use) for 11.
Fewer people had §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien), 3, and §2L2.1 (Trafficking in a Document Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status, or a United States Passport), 2.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Courts ordered supervised release for 387 people (95%), with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 6 (1%), and restitution for 0 (0%).
In criminal history, 25% were in the lowest category I and less than 1% in the highest category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so the post reports federal numbers on their own. Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted, and terms are those imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Oklahoma (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Oklahoma North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (408). 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 Northern District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Assault Sentences in the Northern District of Oklahoma, 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.