Immigration Convictions for March 2023
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during March 2023 the government reported 2773 new immigration convictions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 19.2 percent 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 2023 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of convictions was up (47.8%). Convictions over the past year are still much lower than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that convictions of this type are down 54.4 percent from levels reported in 2018.
The dip 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 decrease in immigration convictions is 8.1 percent instead of 54.4 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.
Figure 1. Monthly Trends in Immigration Convictions
The decrease 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. Where a prosecution was initially filed in U.S. Magistrate Court and then transferred to the U.S. District Court, the magistrate filing date was used since this provides an earlier indicator of actual trends. 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 March 2023 (100 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 March 2023, 527 defendants in immigration cases for these matters were convicted in U.S. Magistrate Courts. These courts handle less serious misdemeanor cases, including what are called "petty offenses." In addition, complaints are sometimes filed in the magistrate courts before an indictment or information is entered. In these cases, the matter starts in the magistrate courts and later moves to the district court where subsequent proceedings take place.
In the magistrate courts in March the most frequently cited lead charge was Title 8 U.S.C Section 1326 involving "Reentry of deported alien". This was the lead charge for 66.4 percent of all magistrate convictions in March.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "08 USC 1325 - Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc." (21.8%), "08 USC 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens" (11.6%).
Immigration Convictions in U.S. District Courts
In March 2023, 2246 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during March there were an additional 0 defendants whose cases moved from the magistrate courts to the U.S. district courts after an indictment or information was filed. The sections which follow cover both sets of cases and therefore cover all matters filed in district court during March.
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 March 2023.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 08 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien 1,462 1 1 1 More 08 USC 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens 640 2 2 2 More 18 USC 1546 - Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents 36 3 3 4 More 08 USC 1325 - Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc. 30 4 5 3 More 19 USC 1459 - Reporting requirements for individuals 22 5 7 27 More 18 USC 1001 - Fraud/false statements or entries generally 20 6 4 9 More 18 USC 911 - False personification - Citizen of the US 8 7 8 19 More 18 USC 1544 - Misuse of passport 6 8 6 5 More 18 USC 3 - Accessory after the fact 3 9 29 15 More 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 2 10 10 6 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 ranked 1 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. "Bringing in and harboring certain aliens" under Title 8 U.S.C Section 1324 was ranked 2 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 five years ago.
Ranked 3rd was "Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1546. "Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1546 was ranked 3 a year ago, while it was ranked 4 five years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in convictions — up 1100 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 3 that involves " Accessory after the fact ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 7400 percent — was registered for convictions under " Reporting requirements for individuals " (Title 19 U.S.C Section 1459 ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in convictions compared to one year ago — down 46.3 percent — was " Misuse of passport " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1544 ). This was the same statute that had the largest decrease — 86.2 % — when compared with five years ago.
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 741 convictions — was the most active during March 2023. The Southern District of Texas (Houston) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 for most frequent use five years ago.
The District of Arizona ranked 2nd. The District of Arizona was ranked 3 a year ago, while it was ranked 5 for most frequent use 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 1 for most frequent use five years ago.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Utah , now ranked 7th , and Northern District of New York (Syracuse) at 9th In the same order, these districts ranked 11th and 16th one year ago and 8th and 19th five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in immigration convictions compared to one year ago — 272.7 percent — was Northern District of New York (Syracuse). Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest growth — 248.5 percent — was Arizona .
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in immigration convictions — 20.5 percent — was Southern District of Texas (Houston). But over the past five years, Southern District of California (San Diego) showed the largest drop — 56.1 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 March 2023 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Saldana, Diana Texas, S 218 1 3 16 More Garcia Marmolejo, Marina Texas, S 182 2 2 13 More Rodriguez, Fernando, Jr. Texas, S 118 3 8 - More Gonzales, Kenneth John N Mexico 79 4 21 2 More Olvera, Jose Rolando, Jr. Texas, S 79 4 9 14 More Moses, Alia M. Texas, W 74 6 5 8 More Soto, James Alan Arizona 59 7 12 58 More Zipps, Jennifer Guerin Arizona 44 8 10 53 More Marquez, Rosemary Arizona 40 9 11 64 More Counts, Walter David, III Texas, W 38 10 1 64 More Table 4. Top Ten 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 Diana Saldana in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 1st with 218 convicted in immigration convictions. Judge Saldana also appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago (ranked 3).
Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 2nd with 182 convicted in immigration convictions. Judge Garcia Marmolejo also appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago (ranked 2).
Judge Fernando Rodriguez, Jr. in the Southern District of Texas (Houston) ranked 3rd with 118 convicted in immigration convictions. Judge Rodriguez also appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago (ranked 8).
Report Generated: May 1, 2023
