Immigration Convictions for April 2008
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during April 2008 the government reported 7383 new immigration convictions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 8.1% 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 2008 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of convictions was up (98.6 percent). Convictions over the past year are still much higher than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that convictions of this type are up 263.8 percent from levels reported in 2003.
The substantial growth in these cases is partly related to increases in the matters filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts. If magistrate cases are excluded and only Federal District Court cases are counted, the overall increase in immigration convictions is 34.1 percent instead of 263.8 percent. The evidence suggests that part of the difference may be the result of improvements in the recording of the magistrate cases by the Justice Department.
The increase 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. 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 April 2008 (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 April 2008, 75 percent of immigration cases for these matters took place in U.S. Magistrate Courts which handle less serious misdemeanor cases, including what are called "petty offenses." In the magistrate courts in April the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 8 U.S.C Section 1325 involving the "Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc.". This was the lead charge for 91.3 percent of all magistrate convictions in April.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "8 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien" (6.4%).
Immigration Convictions in U.S. District Courts
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 April 2008.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 8 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien 1,225 1 1 1 More 8 USC 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens 302 2 2 2 More 8 USC 1325 - Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc. 137 3 3 3 More 18 USC 1546 - Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents 92 4 4 4 More 18 USC 1028 - Fraud and related activity - id documents 21 5 6 9 More 18 USC 1542 - False statement in application and use of passport 17 6 8 8 More 18 USC 1001 - Fraud/false statements or entries generally 15 7 7 5 More 18 USC 1543 - Forgery or false use of passport 15 7 9 7 More 18 USC 911 - False personification - Citizen of the US 12 9 5 6 More 18 USC 1028A - Aggravated identity theft 9 10 - - 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 the 1 most frequently invoked 5 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 the 2 most frequently invoked 5 years ago..
Ranked 3rd was "Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc." under Title 8 U.S.C Section 1325. "Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc." under Title 8 U.S.C Section 1325 was ranked 3 a year ago, while it was the 3 most frequently invoked 5 years ago..
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in convictions—up 43.8 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. ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase—167.4 percent—was registered for convictions under " Fraud and related activity - id documents " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1028 ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in convictions compared to one year ago—down 23.7 percent—was False personification - Citizen of the US (Title 18 U.S.C Section 911 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in convictions— 60.3 percent—was for convictions where the lead charge was " Fraud/false statements or entries generally " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1001 ).
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.
The Southern District of Texas (Houston)—with 453 convictions—was the most active during April 2008. The Southern District of Texas (Houston) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 five years ago.
The Southern District of California (San Diego) ranked 2nd. The Southern District of California (San Diego) was ranked 5 a year ago, while it was ranked 3 five years ago.
Western District of Texas (San Antonio) is now ranking 3rd. The Western District of Texas (San Antonio) was ranked 2 a year ago, while it was ranked 4 five years ago.
A recent entry to the top 10 list was Eastern District of California (Sacramento), now ranked 9th . This district ranked 16th one year ago and 7th five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in immigration convictions compared to one year ago— 144.7 percent—was Central District of California (Los Angeles). This was the same district that had the largest increase— 139.6 %—when compared with five years ago.
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in immigration convictions— 3.1 percent—was Middle District of Florida (Tampa). But over the past five years, Eastern District of California (Sacramento) showed the largest drop— 31.9 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 April 2008 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Kazen, George P. Texas, S 90 1 3 7 More Alvarez, Micaela Texas, S 79 2 2 - More Crane, Randy Texas, S 79 2 7 13 More Briones, David Texas, W 71 4 6 4 More Brack, Robert C. N Mexico 68 5 1 - More Hinojosa, Ricardo H. Texas, S 63 6 9 15 More Martinez, Philip Ray Texas, W 57 7 8 5 More Montalvo, Frank Texas, W 45 8 11 409 More Thompson, Gordon Jr. Cal, S 39 9 12 2 More Cardone, Kathleen Texas, W 35 10 10 409 More
Table 4: Top 10 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 George P. Kazen in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 1st with 90 convicted in immigration convictions. Judge Kazen appeared in the top ten rankings one year (ranked 3) and five years ago (rank 7).
Judges Micaela Alvarez in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) and Randy Crane in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 2nd with 79 convicted in immigration convictions. Judge Alvarezalso appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago(ranked 2).Judge Cranealso appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago(ranked 7).
