Immigration Convictions for August 2016
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during August 2016 the government reported 5258 new immigration convictions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 9.8 percent over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants convicted for immigration-related offenses are based on case-by-case information obtained by TRAC under the Freedom of Information Act from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (see Table 1).
When monthly 2016 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of convictions was down (-7.3%). Convictions over the past year are still much lower than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that convictions of this type are down 21.6 percent from levels reported in 2011.
The decrease from the levels five years ago in immigration convictions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of immigration convictions of this type recorded on a month-to-month basis. Where a prosecution was initially filed in U.S. Magistrate Court and then transferred to the U.S. District Court, the magistrate filing date was used since this provides an earlier indicator of actual trends. The superimposed line on the bars plots the six-month moving average so that natural fluctuations are smoothed out. The one and five-year rates of change in Table 1 and in the sections that follow are all based upon this six-month moving average. To view trends year-by-year rather than month-by-month, see TRAC's annual report series for a broader picture.
Virtually all federal criminal convictions for immigration offenses in August 2016 (99 percent) were referred by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The two lead investigative agencies in DHS are Customs and Border Protection (CBP) whose border patrol agencies guard the county's borders, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), responsible for conducting most immigration criminal investigations under the immigration laws. See Figure 2.
Immigration Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In August 2016, 3454 defendants in immigration cases for these matters were filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts. These courts handle less serious misdemeanor cases, including what are called "petty offenses." In addition, complaints are sometimes filed in the magistrate courts before an indictment or information is entered. In these cases, the matter starts in the magistrate courts and later moves to the district court where subsequent proceedings take place.
In the magistrate courts in August the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 8 U.S.C Section 1325 involving "Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc.". This was the lead charge for 74.5 percent of all magistrate convictions in August.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien" (23.9%).
Immigration Convictions in U.S. District Courts
In August 2016, 1804 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during August there were an additional 0 defendants whose cases moved from the magistrate courts to the U.S. district courts after an indictment or information was filed. The sections which follow cover both sets of cases and therefore cover all matters filed in district court during August.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the convictions of immigration matters filed in U.S. District Court during August 2016.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien 1,413 1 1 1 More 08 USC 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens 224 2 2 2 More 18 USC 1546 - Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents 53 3 3 3 More 18 USC 1544 - Misuse of passport 35 4 4 6 More 08 USC 1325 - Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc. 31 5 5 4 More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 8 6 13 9 More 18 USC 1542 - False statement in application and use of passport 5 7 6 7 More 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 4 8 10 8 More 18 USC 1028A - Aggravated Identity Theft 4 8 18 20 More 18 USC 1015 - Fraud - Nat'zation, citizenship, alien registry 3 10 21 15 More 19 USC 1459 - Reporting requirements for individuals 3 10 16 31 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 3 10 12 13 More 42 USC 408 - Fed Old Age, Survivors & Disab Insur -Penalties 3 10 11 14 More Table 2. Top Charges for Convictions
"Reentry of deported alien" (Title 8 U.S.C Section 1326) was the most frequent recorded lead charge. "Reentry of deported alien" (Title 8 U.S.C Section 1326) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 five years ago.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Bringing in and harboring certain aliens" under Title 8 U.S.C Section 1324. "Bringing in and harboring certain aliens" under Title 8 U.S.C Section 1324 was ranked 2 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 five years ago.
Ranked 3rd was "Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1546. "Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1546 was ranked 3 a year ago, while it was ranked 3 five years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in convictions — up 240 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 1015 that involves " Fraud - Nat'zation, citizenship, alien registry ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 1200 percent — was registered for convictions under " Reporting requirements for individuals " (Title 19 U.S.C Section 1459 ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in convictions compared to one year ago — down 33.6 percent — was " Misuse of passport " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1544 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in convictions — 77.1 percent — was for convictions where the lead charge was " Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 371 ).
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
Understandably, there is great variation in the number of immigration convictions in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.
The districts registering the largest number of convictions of this type last month are shown in Table 3.
Judicial District Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Texas, W 387 1 2 3 More Texas, S 338 2 1 2 More N Mexico 287 3 3 5 More Arizona 235 4 4 1 More Cal, S 198 5 5 4 More Fla, S 29 6 6 7 More N Car, E 29 6 30 36 More N. Y., E 28 8 18 19 More Texas, N 24 9 8 25 More Colorado 23 10 19 16 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts
The Western District of Texas (San Antonio) — with 387 convictions — was the most active during August 2016. The Western District of Texas (San Antonio) was ranked 2 a year ago, while it was ranked 3 for most frequent use five years ago.
The Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 2nd. The Southern District of Texas (Houston) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 for most frequent use five years ago.
District of New Mexico is now ranking 3rd. The District of New Mexico was ranked 3 a year ago, while it was ranked 5 for most frequent use five years ago.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn), now ranked 8th , and Colorado at 10th In the same order, these districts ranked 18th and 19th one year ago and 19th and 16th five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in immigration convictions compared to one year ago — 46.3 percent — was Southern District of Florida (Miami). Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth — 85.3 percent — was New Mexico .
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in immigration convictions — 37.5 percent — was Southern District of California (San Diego). But over the past five years, Arizona showed the largest drop — 60.6 percent.
Top Ranked District Judges
At any one time, there are about 680 federal District Court judges working in the United States. The judges recorded with the largest number of new immigration crime cases resulting in convictions of this type during August 2016 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Moses, Alia M. Texas, W 161 1 2 1 More Johnson, William Paul N Mexico 94 2 14 27 More Guaderrama, David C. Texas, W 70 3 16 - More Crane, Randy Texas, S 65 4 6 4 More Gonzales, Kenneth John N Mexico 57 5 3 - More Hanen, Andrew S. Texas, S 52 6 5 13 More Olvera, Jose Rolando, Jr. Texas, S 48 7 - - More Brack, Robert C. N Mexico 46 8 1 10 More Alvarez, Micaela Texas, S 38 9 8 7 More Ramos, Nelva Gonzales Texas, S 32 10 7 - More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
All 10 of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of immigration convictions.
Judge Alia M. Moses in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 1st with 161 convicted in immigration convictions. Judge Moses appeared in the top ten rankings one year (ranked 2) and five years ago (rank 1).
Judge William Paul Johnson in the District of New Mexico ranked 2nd with 94 convicted in immigration convictions.
Judge David C. Guaderrama in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 3rd with 70 convicted in immigration convictions.
Report Generated: October 21, 2016
