Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025
The Western District of Louisiana sentenced 306 people for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and the median prison term was 4.7 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 0 months or less. Across all 94 federal districts the median was 7 months.
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In brief: The Western District of Louisiana sentenced 306 people for immigration offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and the median prison term was 4.7 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 0 months or less. Across all 94 federal districts the median was 7 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 306 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.
Very Short Terms
Of the 306 people, 299 (98%) received a prison term, and 6 (2%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 4.7 months. A quarter received 10 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less.
A median of 4.7 months is short, and the 0-month figure means a quarter of those sent to prison received a term of 0 months or less. The records do not explain the individual sentences.
The national median for this type was 7 months, and the district's median for all offenses was 60 months.
Most Sentences Were Within the Range
The guideline range was followed for 281 people (92%). 19 sentences (6%) were below it without a government request, and 3 (less than 1%) were below it at the government's request. 3 sentences (less than 1%) were above the range.
For all districts, 62% of immigration sentences were within the range. In this district, 67% of sentences for all offenses were.
Guidelines Used
Immigration is one of the Commission's offense types, based on the main guideline used at sentencing. Of the 306 cases, 162 used §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States).
Next were §2L2.2 (Fraudulently Acquiring Documents Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status for Own Use) with 20 and §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien) with 9. One case used §2L2.1 (Trafficking in a Document Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status, or a United States Passport).
Pleas, Supervised Release, and Criminal History
A total of 301 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 7% were straight pleas. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 293 people with that information recorded.
The median after a guilty plea was 4.6 months, and after a trial it was 27 months, based on 5 people.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 108 people (35%), with a median term of 12 months. By criminal history, 64% were in the lowest category, category I, and less than 1% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts Changed Sharply by Year
These cases were 10% of the 3,011 people sentenced in the district. There were 166 people from fiscal year 2016 to 2019 and 140 from 2020 to 2025.
The yearly table shows 95 people in fiscal year 2019, with a median of 0 months, and 6 in 2024. The records do not show why the counts differ from year to year.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 19 | 13 months | 89% |
| 2017 | 17 | 6 months | 94% |
| 2018 | 35 | 6 months | 94% |
| 2019 | 95 | 0 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 54 | 2.9 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 17 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 7 | 17 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2023 | 10 | 6.4 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 6 | 8.7 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2025 | 46 | 2.8 months | 100% |
Nearby Installations and Limits
Barksdale AFB and Fort Polk are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and these numbers do not describe them.
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Louisiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Louisiana West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (306). 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 Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, 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.