Southern District of Texas Leading in
Record Year for Immigration Prosecutions
| Number Year-to-date | 50,468 |
|---|---|
| Percent Change from previous year | 9.8 |
| Percent Change from 5 years ago | 27.1 |
| Percent Change from 10 years ago | 385 |
| Percent Change from 20 years ago | 1,475 |
Table 1: Criminal Immigration Prosecutions
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during the first six months of FY 2013 the government reported 50,468 new immigration prosecutions. If this activity continues at the same pace, the annual total of prosecutions will be 100,936 for this fiscal year. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this estimate is up 9.8% over the past fiscal year when the number of prosecutions totaled 91,941.
The comparisons of the number of defendants charged with 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).
Compared to five years ago when there were 79,431, the estimate of FY 2013 prosecutions of this type is up 27.1 percent. Prosecutions over the past year are much higher than they were ten years ago. Overall, the data show that prosecutions of this type are up 385 percent from the level of 20,833 reported in 2003 and up 1,475 percent from the level of 6,408 reported in 1993.
The long term trend in immigration prosecutions going back to FY 1993 is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of immigration prosecutions recorded each fiscal year. Projected figures for the current fiscal year are shown. Each presidential administration is distinguished by the color of the bars. To view trends month-by-month rather than year-by-year, see TRAC's monthly report series for the latest data.
Leading Investigative Agencies
The lead investigative agency for immigration prosecutions through March 2013 was "Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection" accounting for 73.1 percent of prosecutions referred.
As shown in Figure 2, additional agencies with substantial numbers of immigration referrals were: Homeland Security - Citizen and Immigration Services (15.5%), "Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement" (10.8%).
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the prosecutions of immigration matters filed in U.S. District Court during the first six months of FY 2013.
Note: There were an additional 85 other lead charges which were not individually ranked. See the latest monthly report if you want all lead charges included in rankings for the latest month.
| Lead Charge | Count | Rank | 1 yr ago | 5 yrs ago | 10 yrs ago | 20 yrs ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08 USC 1325 - Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc. | 28,908 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien | 18,564 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 08 USC 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens | 1,634 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 18 USC 1546 - Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents | 514 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| 18 USC 1544 - Misuse of passport | 198 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 14 | 16 |
| 18 USC 1028 - Fraud and related activity - id documents | 157 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
| 18 USC 911 - False personification - Citizen of the US | 105 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| 18 USC 1542 - False statement in application and use of passport | 70 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 11 |
| 18 USC 2 - Aiding and Abetting | 45 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 29 | 63 |
| 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US | 41 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 7 |
Table 2: Top charges filed
"Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc." (Title 8 U.S.C Section 1325) was the most frequent recorded lead charge. Title 8 U.S.C Section 1325 was ranked 1st a year ago, while it was the 1st most frequently invoked five years ago. It was ranked 2nd ten years ago and 4th twenty years ago.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Reentry of deported alien" under Title 8 U.S.C Section 1326. Title 8 U.S.C Section 1326 was ranked 2nd a year ago, while it was the 2nd most frequently invoked five years ago. It was ranked 1st ten years ago and 1st twenty years ago.
Ranked 3rd was "Bringing in and harboring certain aliens" under Title 8 U.S.C Section 1324. Title 8 U.S.C Section 1324 was ranked 3rd a year ago, while it was the 3rd most frequently invoked five years ago. It was ranked 3rd ten years ago and 2nd twenty years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest projected increase in prosecutions — up 20.4 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 8 U.S.C Section 1325 that involves "Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc. ". This was the same statute that had the largest projected increase — 355% — when compared with five years ago.
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest projected decline in prosecutions compared to one year ago — down 74.4 percent — was "Aiding and Abetting " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 2 ). This was the same statute that had the largest projected decrease — 53.1% — when compared with five years ago.
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
Understandably, there is great variation in the number of immigration prosecutions in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts. The districts registering the largest number of prosecutions of this type during the first six months of FY 2013 are shown in Table 3.
| Judicial District | Count | Rank | 1yr ago | 5yrs ago | 10yrs ago | 20yrs ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas, S | 17,022 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Texas, W | 13,379 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Arizona | 11,476 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| N Mexico | 3,135 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| Cal, S | 1,906 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Fla, S | 323 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 22 |
| Cal, C | 267 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 5 |
| Texas, N | 175 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
| Cal, E | 150 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 6 |
| Utah | 135 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 42 |
Table 3: Top 10 districts
The Southern District of Texas (Houston) — with 17,022 prosecutions — was the most active through March 2013. The Southern District of Texas (Houston) was ranked 2nd a year ago, while it was ranked 1st five years ago. The district's position ten years ago was 1st and 4th twenty years ago.
The Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 2nd. The Western District of Texas (San Antonio) was ranked 3rd a year ago, while it was ranked 2nd five years ago. The district's position ten years ago was 2nd as well as twenty years ago.
The District of Arizona now ranks 3rd. The District of Arizona was ranked 1st a year ago, while it was ranked 3rd five years ago. The district's position ten years ago was 4th and 3rd twenty years ago.
Recent entries to the top 10 list were Northern District of Texas (Fort Worth) and Utah, now ranked 8th and 10th. These districts ranked 12th and 13th one year ago and 9th and 11th five years ago.
Compared to 10 years ago, Utah now ranked in the top 10 did not appear in the top ten.
And compared to 20 years ago, Southern District of Florida (Miami) and Utah were not sufficiently active to then make the top 10.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest projected growth in immigration prosecutions compared to one year ago — 48.3 percent — was Northern District of Texas (Fort Worth). Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest projected growth — 45.9 percent — was Arizona .
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest projected drop in immigration prosecutions — 22.0 percent — was Arizona.