Two days ago, the Sentencing Commission released a report compiling Fiscal Year 2013 (FY 2013) sentencing data on illegal reentry cases prosecuted under 8 U.S.C. §1326. Interestingly, §1326 cases made up 26% of all cases sentenced in federal court in FY 2013. There’s no reason to think that number will diminish because In 2013, there were 368,644 deportations sanctioned.
In FY 2013: (1) the average sentence for illegal reentry offenders was 18 months; (2) all but 2 of the 18,498 §1326 offenders wo were felons, but not “aggravated felons,” were sentenced at or below the 10 year statutory maximum under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b)(1); (3) the rate of within-guideline range sentences was significantly lower among aggravated felons who received a 16-level enhancement pursuant to §2L1.2(b)(1)(A) (31.3%), as compared to the within-range rate for those who received no enhancements under §2L1.2(b) (92.7%); (4) the average § 1326 offender was deported 3.2 times before his instant illegal reentry prosecution, and over one-third (38.1%) were previously deported after a prior illegal entry or illegal reentry conviction; (5) 61.9% of offenders were convicted of at least one criminal offense after illegally reentering the United States; (6) 4.7% of §1326 offenders had no prior convictions and not more than one prior deportation before their instant illegal reentry prosecutions; and (7) most §1326 offenders were apprehended by immigration officials at or near the border.