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# Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-western-district-of-michigan/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:15:22.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:15:22.000Z
- Description: All 450 people sentenced for immigration offenses in the Western District of Michigan in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 pleaded guilty, and 89% of those pleas were straight pleas with no written agreement. The median prison term was 6 months, compared with 7 months across all 94 federal districts. 84% of
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-michigan/) › Immigration Offense: Western District of Michigan

**In brief:** All 450 people sentenced for immigration offenses in the Western District of Michigan in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 pleaded guilty, and 89% of those pleas were straight pleas with no written agreement. The median prison term was 6 months, compared with 7 months across all 94 federal districts. 84% of sentences were within the guideline range.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 450 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Almost All Pleas Had No Written Agreement

Of the 450 people, 450 (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 8% had a written plea agreement and 89% were straight pleas with no agreement.

A straight plea means the person pleaded guilty without a written agreement with the government.

Nationally, more than 99% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty, and the district's figure for all offenses was 96%.

## Short Prison Terms

Of the 450 people, 441 (98%) received a prison term, and 7 (2%) received probation only. The median prison term was 6 months. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 2 months or less.

The median for all offenses in the district was 51 months. These cases therefore carried much shorter terms than the district's cases as a whole.

The terms are the sentences imposed, not time served.

## Which Guidelines Were Used?

Immigration is one of the Commission's offense types, based on the main guideline used at sentencing. The most common was §2L1.2 (Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States), with 305 cases.

Next were §2L2.2 (Fraudulently Acquiring Documents Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status for Own Use) with 50, §2L2.1 (Trafficking in a Document Relating to Naturalization, Citizenship, or Legal Resident Status, or a United States Passport) with 15, and §2L1.1 (Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien) with 2.

## Sentences Within the Guideline Range

A sentence within the guideline range was given to 377 people (84%). 7 sentences (2%) were below the range at the government's request, 56 (12%) were below it without a government request, and 10 (2%) were above the range.

Across all districts, 62% of immigration sentences were within the range. In this district, 54% of sentences for all offenses were.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 7 of the 377 people with that information recorded (2%).

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 231 people (51%), with a median term of 24 months. A fine was ordered for 12 (3%), and restitution for 5 (1%).

By criminal history, 44% were in the lowest category, category I, and 1% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Counts by Year

These cases were 15% of the 3,034 people sentenced in the district. From fiscal year 2016 to 2019 there were 313 people, and from 2020 to 2025 there were 137.

The yearly table shows 89 people in fiscal year 2019, 6 in 2024, and 27 in 2025\. Medians for the years with small counts, such as 2024, rest on few cases and should be read with care.

The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not included. The records also do not show why the counts changed from year to year.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 73               | 6 months      | 100%           |
| 2017        | 74               | 6 months      | 100%           |
| 2018        | 77               | 4.8 months    | 100%           |
| 2019        | 89               | 3 months      | 100%           |
| 2020        | 50               | 5.4 months    | 100%           |
| 2021        | 23               | 8.5 months    | 100%           |
| 2022        | 21               | 9.5 months    | 100%           |
| 2023        | 10               | 8 months      | 100%           |
| 2024        | 6                | 15 months     | 6 of 6         |
| 2025        | 27               | 12 months     | 100%           |

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Michigan (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Michigan West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Immigration" (450). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-michigan/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Western District of Michigan, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sexual-abuse-sentences-western-district-of-michigan/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.