Immigration Prosecutions for 2018
Lead Charge: 08 USC 1325 - Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc.
Number Year-to-date 22,883 Percent Change from previous year 45.3 Percent Change from 5 years ago -27.1 Percent Change from 10 years ago -20.9 Percent Change from 20 years ago 1245
Table 1: Criminal Immigration ProsecutionsThe latest available data from the Justice Department show that during the first seven months of FY 2018 the government reported 22,883 new immigration prosecutions for these matters. Those cases had a lead charge of "08 USC 1325 - Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc.". If this activity continues at the same pace, the annual total of prosecutions will be 39,228 for this fiscal year. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this estimate is up 45.3% over the past fiscal year when the number of prosecutions totaled 27,002.
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 53,789, the estimate of FY 2018 prosecutions of this type is down 27.1 percent. Prosecutions over the past year are lower than they were ten years ago. Overall, the data show that prosecutions of this type are down 20.9 percent from the level of 49,603 reported in 2008 but up 1245 percent from the level of 2,916 reported in 1998.
The long term trend in immigration prosecutions for these matters going back to FY 1998 is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of immigration prosecutions of this type 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 Program Categories
Within the broad category of immigration, cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.
The single largest number of prosecutions of these matters through April 2018 was for "Immigration", accounting for all prosecutions.
Leading Investigative Agencies
The lead investigative agency for immigration prosecutions through April 2018 was "Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection" accounting for 99.1 percent of prosecutions referred.
As shown in Figure 2, additional agencies with substantial numbers of immigration referrals were: Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement (0.4%).
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 seven months of FY 2018 are shown in Table 3.
Judicial District Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 10yrs ago 20yrs ago Texas, S 7,634 1 2 1 1 4 More Texas, W 7,587 2 1 2 2 2 More Arizona 3,665 3 3 3 3 1 More N Mexico 2,824 4 4 4 4 10 More Cal, S 1,090 5 5 5 5 3 More N. Y., N 48 6 6 6 12 6 More N Dakota 6 7 10 18 33 - More Tenn, W 3 8 - 27 - 10 More Fla, S 2 9 8 38 39 33 More Maine 2 9 12 24 25 16 More Mich, W 2 9 16 24 44 33 More N. Y., E 2 9 9 16 54 26 More Vermont 2 9 12 15 19 18 More W Virg, N 2 9 - - - - More
Table 2: Top 10 districts
The Southern District of Texas (Houston)—with 7,634 prosecutions—was the most active through April 2018. 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 1st 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 3rd a year ago as well as five years ago. The district's position ten years ago was 3rd and 1st twenty years ago.
Recent entries to the top 10 list were Maine, Vermont and Western District of Michigan (Grand Rapids), now ranked 9th, 9th and 9th. These districts ranked 12th, 12th and 16th one year ago and 24th, 15th and 24th five years ago.
Compared to 10 years ago, Northern District of New York (Syracuse), Vermont, Maine, North Dakota, Southern District of Florida (Miami), Western District of Michigan (Grand Rapids) and Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn) now ranked in the top 10 did not appear in the top ten.
And compared to 20 years ago, Maine, Vermont, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn), Southern District of Florida (Miami) and Western District of Michigan (Grand Rapids) 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—226 percent—was New Mexico. Compared to five years ago, the district with the largest projected growth—894 percent—was Southern District of California (San Diego) .
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest projected drop in immigration prosecutions—65.7 percent—was Southern District of Florida (Miami).
Report Generated: June 19, 2018
