{"id":62717,"date":"2014-03-18T13:56:25","date_gmt":"2014-03-18T18:56:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2014\/03\/18\/the-rise-of-federal-immigration-crimes\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:14:53","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:14:53","slug":"the-rise-of-federal-immigration-crimes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/race-and-ethnicity\/2014\/03\/18\/the-rise-of-federal-immigration-crimes\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rise of Federal Immigration Crimes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Federal<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

Dramatic growth over the past two decades in the number of offenders sentenced in federal courts has been driven primarily by enforcement of a particular immigration offense\u2014unlawful reentry into the United States\u2014according to an analysis of data from the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) by the Pew Research Center.<\/p>\n\n

Between 1992 and 2012, the number of offenders sentenced in federal courts more than doubled, rising from 36,564 cases to 75,867.[1. These figures reflect only sentenced offender cases for which a sentencing guideline was applied. In 2012, there were 84,173 offenders convicted in federal courts. Among them, according to USSC data, 75,867 offenders had a USSC sentencing guideline applied while 8,306 offenders did not.] At the same time, the number of unlawful reentry convictions increased 28-fold, from 690 cases in 1992 to 19,463 in 2012.[2. Not all criminal prosecutions filed in federal courts lead to a criminal conviction. According to an analysis by the Transactions Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, of all the federal criminal prosecutions filed between 2008 and 2011, more than half were immigration related. (Cited by Meissner et al., 2013<\/a>)] The increase in unlawful reentry convictions alone accounts for nearly half (48%) of the growth in the total number of offenders sentenced in federal courts over the period. By contrast, the second fastest growing type of conviction\u2014for drug offenses\u2014accounted for 22% of the growth.<\/p>\n\n

Immigrants charged with unlawful reentry\u2014a federal crime\u2014have entered or attempted to enter the U.S. illegally more than once. They may also have attempted to reenter the U.S. after having been officially deported.[3. Immigrants apprehended at the border may face federal criminal charges for illegal entry (8 U.S.C. \u00a71325) or illegal reentry (8 U.S.C. \u00a71326). They may also face charges related to human smuggling (8 U.S.C. \u00a71324), or document fraud (8 U.S.C. \u00a71546). For more on immigration offenses and federal courts, see Appendix D.] Many of those charged with unlawful reentry were apprehended at the U.S. border by the U.S. Border Patrol (Rosenblum, 2013<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n

As unlawful reentry convictions increased, the demographic composition of sentenced offenders changed (Lopez and Light 2009<\/a>). In 1992, Latinos made up 23% of sentenced offenders; by 2012, that share had grown to 48%. Over the same period, the share of offenders who did not hold U.S. citizenship increased from 22% to 46%. Among federal sentenced offenders in 1992, 12% were unauthorized immigrants. By 2012, that share had increased to 40%.<\/p>\n\n

The United States Sentencing Commission<\/h3>

The United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) was established in 1984 to create sentencing guidelines for the federal courts as part of the Sentencing Reform Act. One of its missions is to collect data on all federal criminal cases sentenced under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines (USSC, 2012). The data files available from the USSC include all cases that resulted in a sentence from fiscal 1992 through fiscal 2012.<\/p><\/div>\n\n

Nearly all of those sentenced for unlawful reentry in federal courts received a prison sentence. On average, the sentence length for these offenders was about two years. As the number of offenders sentenced in federal courts for unlawful reentry increased, so too did the number of immigration offenders incarcerated in federal prisons. Between 1998 and 2010 alone, growth in the number of immigration offenders accounted for 56% of the increase in federal prison admissions (Mallik-Kane, Parthasarathy and Adams, 2012<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n

The data for this report comes from the USSC and covers all federal felony and misdemeanor cases between 1992 and 2012 for which the offense category is known and the offender is sentenced in federal courts.[4. The USSC files only include Class A misdemeanors. Other misdemeanor cases or cases brought before immigration courts are not included. Under 18 U.S. Code \u00a7 3559, a Class A misdemeanor includes cases where the statutory maximum term of imprisonment authorized is one year or less but more than six months.] These data include all criminal immigration offenses sentenced under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, but do not include civil immigration charges that are heard before U.S. immigration courts.[5. Immigration courts generally determine removability and adjudicate applications for relief from removal. Unlike federal district courts that are responsible for handling criminal immigration charges, immigration courts do not have the authority to issue prison sentences.]<\/p>\n\n

More Criminal Convictions, Fewer Voluntary Returns<\/h3>\n\n

Unlawful reentry convictions in federal courts are part of a broader stepped up enforcement effort from the U.S. Border Patrol begun in 2005.[6. See testimony of Michael J. Fisher, U.S. Border Patrol Chief before the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security on October 4, 2011. https:\/\/www.dhs.gov\/news\/2011\/10\/04\/written-testimony-cbp-house-homeland-security-subcommittee-border-and-maritime<\/a>] Prior to this change, immigrants apprehended at the border were largely allowed to voluntarily return to Mexico\u2014without any penalty.[7. For more on voluntary return trends, see Appendix A.]<\/p>\n\n

Since 2005, however, the Border Patrol has reduced voluntary returns for immigrants it apprehends, while increasing the use of other strategies. These include criminally charging immigrants apprehended at the border with unlawful reentry and increasing the use of expedited removals (which do not require a judicial review). And for those immigrants who are apprehended at the border and removed, the Border Patrol has used remote repatriation as an additional strategy, sending deported immigrants to border ports many miles away from where they were apprehended, or, in the case of Mexican nationals, repatriating immigrants into the interior of Mexico (Rosenblum, 2013<\/a>). These strategies are intended to break the smuggling cycle and deter an apprehended immigrant from attempting further illegal entries into the U.S.<\/p>\n\n

\"Border<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

Many immigrants convicted in federal courts of unlawful reentry in recent years were processed under a Border Patrol program called \u201cOperation Streamline.\u201d This program, implemented in five Border Patrol Southwest sectors[8. Operation Streamline was first established in the Border Patrol\u2019s Del Rio Section of the western District of Texas in December 2005. Subsequently, it was expanded to the Yuma Sector in Arizona (December 2006), the Laredo Sector in Texas (October 2007), the Tucson Sector in Arizona (January 2008) and the Rio Grande Valley Sector in Texas (June 2008).] in conjunction with federal courts and attorneys, allows up to 40 unauthorized immigrants charged with unlawful reentry to be prosecuted at the same time. This program alone has accounted for nearly half (45%) of all federal immigration-related prosecutions in Southwest border districts between 2005 and 2012 (Rosenblum, 2013<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n

Border enforcement efforts have increased even as the number of apprehensions at U.S. borders declined. Between 2005 and 2011, the number of border apprehensions fell by more than half, from 1.2 million to 340,000.[9. Border apprehensions by the U.S. Border Patrol peaked in 2000, when 1.7 million immigrants were apprehended (U.S. Border Patrol, 2013<\/a>).]<\/p>\n\n

Since 2011, though, border apprehensions have begun to rise again, reaching 421,000 in 2013. Much of the recent increase is among non-Mexican immigrants (Passel, Cohn and Gonzalez-Barrera, 2013<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n

The federal government has deported nearly 400,000 unauthorized immigrants a year since the start of the Obama administration. A growing share of those deported were convicted of a criminal offense, including some related to immigration crimes (Gonzalez-Barrera, 2014<\/a>). There were an estimated 11.7 million unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. in 2012, according to Pew Research Center estimates (Passel, Cohn and Gonzalez-Barrera, 2013<\/a>). Most, about three-quarters, are from Latin America.<\/p>\n\n

Growth in Unlawful Reentry Cases Changing the Federal Case Load<\/h3>\n\n
\"Federal<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

The rising number of convictions for unlawful reentry has altered the offense composition of federal offenders. In 2012, immigration offenses\u2014of which unlawful reentry is the largest category\u2014represented 30% of offenders, up from 5% in 1992.<\/p>\n\n

Unlawful reentry cases alone accounted for 26% of sentenced federal offenders\u2014second only to drug offenses in 2012. This is up 13-fold since 1992, when offenders sentenced for unlawful reentry made up just 2% of sentenced offenders. These trends match the population growth in the Federal Bureau of Prisons system.<\/p>\n\n

This report examines the characteristics and trends of offenders sentenced in federal courts. The data for this report are from the United States Sentencing Commission\u2019s Monitoring of Federal Criminal Sentences data files for fiscal years 1992 through 2012. These files contain information on sentencing decisions for all federal felony and Class A misdemeanor cases. Only those cases with documentation compiled by the USSC are included in the data files.<\/p>\n\n

Among the report\u2019s other findings:<\/p>\n\n

Offense Convictions in Federal Courts<\/h4>\n\n