Immigration Convictions for November 2006
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during November 2006 the government reported 2363 new immigration convictions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is down 7.8% 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 2006 convictions are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the numbers were down (-11.5 percent). Convictions over the past year are still much higher than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that the convictions are up 156.8 percent from levels reported in 2001.
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 58.1 percent instead of 156.8 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 is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of immigration convictions 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 convictions for immigration offenses in November 2006 (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.
Lead Charge in Immigration Convictions
US Magistrate Courts
In November 2006, 41 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 November 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 79.4 percent of all magistrate convictions in November.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "8 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien" (15.8%).
US District Courts
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the convictions of immigration matters filed in U.S. District Court during November 2006.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 8 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien 914 1 1 1 More 8 USC 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens 280 2 2 2 More 8 USC 1325 - Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc. 61 3 3 3 More 18 USC 1546 - Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents 52 4 4 4 More 18 USC 1028 - Fraud and related activity - id documents 24 5 9 7 More 18 USC 911 - False personification - Citizen of the US 12 6 5 5 Details 18 USC 1001 - Fraud/false statements or entries generally 12 6 6 6 Details 18 USC 1543 - Forgery or false use of passport 8 8 7 10 Details 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 7 9 13 9 Details 18 USC 1542 - False statement in application and use of passport 6 10 8 8 Details
Table 2: Top charges for convictions
"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 also ranked 2nd a year ago as well as five 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 also ranked 3rd a year ago as well as five years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in convictions—up 163.2 percent—compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 1028 that involves " Fraud and related activity - id documents ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase—275 percent—was registered for convictions under " Forgery or false use of passport " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1543 ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in convictions compared to one year ago—down 48.2 percent—was Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc. (Title 8 U.S.C Section 1325 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in convictions— 48.6 percent—was for convictions where the lead charge was " False personification - Citizen of the US " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 911 ).
Immigration Convictions by Judicial District
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 last month are shown in Table 3.
Judicial District Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Texas, S 309 1 1 1 More Arizona 253 2 5 4 More Texas, W 165 3 2 3 More Cal, S 148 4 4 2 More N Mexico 77 5 3 5 More Cal, C 30 6 6 9 More Wash, E 21 7 20 16 More Fla, S 20 8 7 8 Details Fla, M 19 9 9 12 Details Colorado 17 10 17 27 Details N. Y., W 17 10 28 41 Details Utah 17 10 10 13 Details Virg, E 17 10 18 24 Details
Table 3: Top 10 districts
Southern District of Texas (Houston)—with 309 convictions—was the most active during November 2006. This district was ranked 1st a year ago as well as five years ago.
Arizona ranked 2nd. This marked a rise from Arizona's 5thplace ranking just one year ago. Five years ago, the district's position was 4.
Western District of Texas (San Antonio) is now ranking 3rd. It moved down in its rankings from a year ago when it ranked 2nd. Five years ago, the district's position was 3.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Colorado , now ranked 10th , and Eastern District of Virginia (Alexandria) at 10th. In the same order, these districts ranked 17th and 18th one year ago and 27th and 24th five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in immigration convictions compared to one year ago— 132.1 percent—was Arizona . Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth— 353.8 percent—was Western District of New York (Buffalo).
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in immigration convictions— 46.1 percent—was Central District of California (Los Angeles). But over the past five years, Southern District of California (San Diego) showed the largest drop— 6.4 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 resulting in convictions during November 2006 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Kazen, George P. Texas, S 62 1 1 9 More Alvarez, Micaela Texas, S 55 2 3 - More Brack, Robert C. N Mexico 51 3 2 - More Briones, David Texas, W 39 4 6 7 More Crane, Randy Texas, S 38 5 9 - More Hinojosa, Ricardo H. Texas, S 36 6 7 11 More Tagle, Hilda G. Texas, S 32 7 5 4 More Jack, Janis Graham Texas, S 31 8 13 56 More Hanen, Andrew S. Texas, S 31 8 11 - More Cardone, Kathleen Texas, W 28 10 8 - 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 62 convicted in immigration convictions. Judge Kazen also appeared in the top ten rankings one year (ranked 1st) and five years ago (rank 9th).
Judge Micaela Alvarez in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 2nd with 55 convicted in immigration convictions. Judge Alvarez also appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago (ranked 3rd).
Judge Robert C. Brack in New Mexico ranked 3rd with 51 new immigration convictions. Judge Brack also appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago (ranked 2nd).
