Immigration Prosecutions for February 2006
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during February 2006 the government reported filing 2883 new immigration prosecutions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 5% over the previous month.
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)
When monthly 2006 prosecutions are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the filings were up (18.9 percent). Prosecutions over the past year are still much higher than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that the prosecutions are up 75.1 percent from levels reported in 2001.
The broad pattern of increase in immigration prosecutions over the past five years is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of immigration prosecutions 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.
Virtually all federal criminal prosecutions for immigration offenses in February 2006 (94 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.
Lead Charge in Immigration Prosecutions
US Magistrate Courts
In February 2006, 80 percent of immigration cases took place in U.S. Magistrate Courts which handle less serious misdemeanor cases, including what are called "petty offenses." In the magistrate courts in February 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 47.6 percent of all magistrate filings in February.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien" (34.2%), "08 USC 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens" (14.5%).
US District Courts
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the prosecution of immigration matters filed in U.S. District court during February 2006.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien 359 1 1 1 08 USC 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens 109 2 2 3 08 USC 1325 - Entry of alien at improper time or place, etc. 40 3 3 2 18 USC 1546 - Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and 36 4 4 4 18 USC 1542 - False statement in application and use of passport 11 5 9 6 18 USC 1543 - Forgery or false use of passport 6 6 6 10 18 USC 0371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 4 7 12 9 18 USC 1028 - Fraud and related activity - id documents 3 8 8 7 18 USC 0911 - False personification - Citizen of the US 2 9 5 5 42 USC 0408 - Fed Old Age, Survivors + Disab Insur -Penalties 2 9 14 16 50 USC 1705 - International Emergency Economic Powers 2 9 - -
Table 2: Top 10 charges filed
"Reentry of deported alien" (8 U.S.C Section 1326 ) was the most frequent recorded lead charge. This statute was also ranked 1st a year ago as well as 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 . This statute was ranked 2nd a year ago, while it was the 3rd 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 . This statute was ranked 3rd a year ago, while it was the 2nd most frequently invoked 5 years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in prosecutions—up 100 percent—compared to one year ago was 42 U.S.C Section 408 that involves "Fed Old Age, Survivors + Disab Insur -Penalties ". This was the same statute that had the largest increase—366.7 %—when compared with five years ago.
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in prosecutions compared to one year ago—down 53.5 percent—was False personification - Citizen of the US (18 U.S.C Section 911 ). This was the same statute that had the largest decrease— 72 %—when compared with five years ago.
Immigration Prosecutions by Judicial District
Understandably, there is great variation in number of immigration prosecutions that are filed in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts. The ten districts registering the largest number of prosecutions last month are shown in Table 3.
Southern District of Texas (Houston)—with 91 prosecutions—was the most active during February 2006. The district's position last year was 1st. Five years ago, the district's position was 3.
Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 2nd . It ranked 2nd as well one year ago. Five years ago, the district's position was 4.
Southern District of California (San Diego) is now ranking 3rd . It moved up in its rankings from a year ago when it ranked 4th. Five years ago, the district's position was 1.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Utah , now ranked 5th , and Oregon at 8th. In the same order, these districts ranked 11th and 12th one year ago and 14th and 11th five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in immigration prosecutions compared to one year ago— 26.4 percent—was Utah . Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth— 63.1 percent—was Southern District of Texas (Houston).
In the last year, the judicial district court recording the largest drop in immigration prosecutions— 61.5 percent—was Central District of California (Los Angeles). But over the past five years, Eastern District of California (Sacramento) showed the largest drop— 56.3 percent.
Top Ranked District Judges
At any one time, there are about 680 federal district court judges working in the United States. For the entire nation, the judges recorded with the largest number of new immigration crime cases during February 2006 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Brack, Robert C. N Mexico 26 1 3 - Jack, Janis Graham Texas, S 20 2 14 61 Hanen, Andrew S. Texas, S 13 3 5 - Junell, Robert A. Texas, W 11 4 29 - Miller, Jeffrey T. Cal, S 10 5 29 18 Head, Hayden Wilson Jr. Texas, S 10 5 15 51 Rainey, John David Texas, S 10 5 33 340 Tagle, Hilda G. Texas, S 10 5 4 9 Moskowitz, Barry Ted Cal, S 9 9 27 12 Corrigan, Timothy J. Fla, M 8 10 55 246 Crane, Randy Texas, S 8 10 7 - Cardone, Kathleen Texas, W 8 10 9 429
Table 4: Top 10 judges
All 12 of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of immigration filings . (Because of ties, there were a total of 12 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Robert C. Brack in the New Mexico ranked 1st with 26 defendants in new immigration cases. Judge Brack also appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago (ranked 3rd).
Judge Janis Graham Jack in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 2nd with 20 defendants in new immigration cases.
Judge Andrew S. Hanen in Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 3rd with 13 new immigration cases. Judge Hanen also appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago (ranked 5th).
