Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of California, FY2016–2025
Immigration offenses were 46% of the 32,099 people sentenced in the Southern District of California in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. That is 14,718 people, and 96% of them received a prison term, with a median of 6.4 months. Only 21% of sentences were within the guideline range, compared with 62% for i
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of California, FY › Immigration Offense: Southern District of California
In brief: Immigration offenses were 46% of the 32,099 people sentenced in the Southern District of California in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. That is 14,718 people, and 96% of them received a prison term, with a median of 6.4 months. Only 21% of sentences were within the guideline range, compared with 62% for immigration cases in all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 14,718 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.
How Large Was Immigration in the District's Caseload?
14,718 people were sentenced for immigration offenses in this district over the 10 fiscal years. The total for all offenses in the district was 32,099 people. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 15 months.
The Sentencing Commission's "Immigration" category is assigned by the main guideline in each case. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in it.
Which Guidelines Were Used
4,992 cases used §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States). 4,004 used §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien).
Next were §2L2.2 (Fraudulently Acquiring Documents Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status for Own Use) with 447 cases, and §2L2.1 (Trafficking in a Document Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status, or a United States Passport) with 21.
Short Prison Terms
14,090 people (96%) received a prison term, and 531 (4%) received probation only. In all districts, 95% were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 6.4 months. A quarter received 13 months or more, and a quarter received 2.4 months or less. The median for all districts was 7 months.
Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
The Guideline Range
The guideline range is the range produced by the Commission's rules for each case. 11,002 sentences (75%) were below it at the government's request, and 565 (4%) were below it without a government request.
3,040 sentences (21%) were within the range, and 91 (less than 1%) were above it. 14,698 people have this information. The records do not show what led the government to make those requests.
Guilty Pleas and the Few Trials
14,593 of 14,718 people (more than 99%) pleaded guilty, and 125 were convicted after a trial. 97% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 2% were straight pleas.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 6.2 months. After a trial it was 33 months, based on 121 people sent to prison. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 117 of the 14,405 people with that information (less than 1%).
Supervised Release and Criminal History
10,343 people (70%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 49 people, and restitution for 33.
34% were in the lowest criminal history category I, and 6% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Year-by-Year Counts
7,332 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 7,386 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
The table shows the count in each year. The lowest was 726 in 2021, and the highest was 2,451 in 2019. The records cannot show why the counts or medians changed from year to year.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1,256 | 12 months | 99% |
| 2017 | 1,479 | 8 months | 99% |
| 2018 | 2,146 | 6 months | more than 99% |
| 2019 | 2,451 | 6 months | more than 99% |
| 2020 | 1,827 | 6 months | more than 99% |
| 2021 | 726 | 8 months | more than 99% |
| 2022 | 1,103 | 12 months | more than 99% |
| 2023 | 1,261 | 8 months | more than 99% |
| 2024 | 1,081 | 6 months | 99% |
| 2025 | 1,388 | 4 months | more than 99% |
Limits of the Comparison
The records do not describe the facts of any case. Camp Pendleton, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and San Diego are in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts, and these numbers cover only federal cases.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (14,718). 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 Southern District of California, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Southern District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of California, 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.