8 U.S.C. 1325, Improper entry by alien: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Most federal cases under 8 U.S.C. 1325 were petty offenses: 19,536 of 21,067 defendants (93%) whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Guilty pleas ended 20,709 cases (98%), and 20,775 defendants (99%) were convicted. The median prison term on the charge was 1 month.
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In brief: Most federal cases under 8 U.S.C. 1325 were petty offenses: 19,536 of 21,067 defendants (93%) whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Guilty pleas ended 20,709 cases (98%), and 20,775 defendants (99%) were convicted. The median prison term on the charge was 1 month.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 21,067 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The series also draws on the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 659,036 people sentenced 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 Section Charged Mostly as a Petty Offense
Petty offenses accounted for 19,536 defendants (93%). Felonies accounted for 1,483 (7%), and Class A misdemeanors for 48 (less than 1%).
A petty offense is the lowest level of federal charge. That fact shapes every other number in this post, including the prison terms.
What Was Counted
Title 8, section 1325 of the U.S. Code has the heading "Improper entry by alien." This post reports only how cases under that section ended.
The Federal Judicial Center records count 21,067 defendants whose case ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 with a most serious charge under this section. Cases that were dismissed or ended in acquittal are counted along with convictions.
Prison Terms on This Charge
Of the 20,775 people convicted, 19,703 (95%) received a prison term on this charge. Among terms of 1 month or more, the median was 1 month. The median is the middle value, so it does not show the range of terms.
The records shown here do not separate prison terms by charge level.
Few Dismissals and Fewer Trials
Charges were dismissed for 278 defendants (1%). A dismissal can include a case the government dropped after a guilty plea in another case.
Only 80 defendants went to trial. Most of those trials were before a judge alone: 57 bench trials compared with 23 jury trials. Bench trials ended in acquittal 11 times (19%), and jury trials 3 times (13%). Across all 80 trials, 14 ended in an acquittal (18%).
Type of Counsel
Federal public or community defenders represented 11,728 defendants (56%). CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers appointed by the court, represented 8,979 (43%). Private (retained) counsel represented 263 (1%). Another 11 defendants represented themselves, and 91% of those cases were dismissed.
Both appointed groups had a guilty plea rate of 99%. The rate for private counsel was 94%. At trial, federal defenders had 6 acquittals in 39 trials (15%), CJA panel attorneys had 8 in 37 (22%), and private counsel had 0 in 4.
Comparisons by type of counsel describe groups of cases and are not a measure of lawyer quality. The people in each group face different charges and circumstances, and counsel is recorded at the end of the case.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 11,728 | 99% | less than 1% | 39 | 6 (15%) |
| CJA panel attorney | 8,979 | 99% | less than 1% | 37 | 8 (22%) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 263 | 94% | 5% | 4 | 0 (0 of 4) |
| Self-represented | 11 | 9% | 91% | 0 | 0 |
Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025 Had the Most Cases
Yearly counts were in the hundreds for most of the period, with 1,862 in fiscal year 2018. In fiscal year 2024 the count was 6,473, and in fiscal year 2025 it was 8,844. In both of those years, more than 99% of cases ended in a guilty plea.
The records show the change in counts. They cannot show what led to it.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 625 | 95% | 4% | 4 | 0 (0 of 4) |
| 2017 | 687 | 95% | 4% | 8 | 1 (1 of 8) |
| 2018 | 1,862 | 98% | 1% | 6 | 1 (1 of 6) |
| 2019 | 861 | 93% | 5% | 22 | 4 (18%) |
| 2020 | 564 | 91% | 6% | 14 | 5 (36%) |
| 2021 | 375 | 91% | 8% | 4 | 1 (1 of 4) |
| 2022 | 331 | 96% | 3% | 4 | 1 (1 of 4) |
| 2023 | 445 | 95% | 5% | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 6,473 | more than 99% | less than 1% | 9 | 0 (0 of 9) |
| 2025 | 8,844 | more than 99% | less than 1% | 9 | 1 (1 of 9) |
Limits
Cases are grouped by the most serious charge at the end, which may differ from the charge filed at the start. The records hold no case facts and no reasons for dismissals. No close court-martial counterpart for this section exists in the approved crosswalk, so the numbers stand alone.
How We Counted
Every federal defendant whose case ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 and whose most serious charge at the end of the case (TTITLE1) was under 8 U.S.C. 1325, any subsection (21,067), Federal Judicial Center, counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4. Type of counsel is TCOUNSEL; labels from the FJC criminal codebook. Section heading from the U.S. Code as published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel (release point 119-136).
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
Who is in each set of numbers. The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.
How "plea" and "trial" are counted. In the federal sentencing numbers, "trial" means the person was convicted after a trial, including people who pleaded guilty to some counts and went to trial on others. People acquitted at trial are not in these numbers at all (see "Who is in each set of numbers"). In the federal case data, the trial rate counts both convictions and acquittals at trial among all defendants whose cases ended, including dismissed cases. Military numbers count contested cases that reached a verdict. These denominators are not the same, and each post states the one it uses.
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.
Type of counsel describes groups of cases, not lawyers. The Federal Judicial Center records the type of counsel at the end of the case. Defendants who hire a lawyer differ from defendants who receive an appointed lawyer in their charges, criminal history, and circumstances, and some defendants change lawyers during a case. Differences in outcomes by type of counsel therefore cannot be credited to the type of lawyer.
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)
- 8 U.S.C. 1253, Penalties related to removal: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 8 U.S.C. 1324, Bringing in and harboring certain aliens: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 8 U.S.C. 1326, Reentry of removed aliens: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- Appointed vs. Retained Lawyers in Federal Criminal Cases: How Cases Ended, 2016–2025
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?
- 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.