Selected period totalsentencing events · non-u.s. citizens2023–2025
Sum of the annual records for the selected offence and years.
Non-U.S. citizens over time
2023–2025
Federal sentencing events only. The default excludes immigration offences, which remain a separate selection.
Definitions & limitations
Federal cases only. The default excludes immigration offences; they remain available separately. Citizenship is not immigration status. Cases with unknown citizenship are excluded.
These data identify citizenship or nationality. They do not separately identify foreign-born people or naturalized citizens. Counts are not population rates, and changes can reflect reporting, enforcement or justice-system practices.
Fiscal year 2025 · federal sentencing events. Select an offense to see its history.
Offense
Non-U.S. citizens · sentencing events
149
2
4
54
20
2
74
11
5
3,092
38
9
436
5
16
733
22,311
7
28
0
388
69
310
14
22
73
75
15
27
897
Foreign-born and naturalized-citizen series are not separately reported in these datasets. Naturalized citizens are included in citizen counts and are not added to this graph. Data coverage →
RESEARCH FINDINGS · SEPARATE FROM OFFICIAL COUNTS
Studies using population denominators
These studies measure different outcomes and periods. They are not estimates of today’s national crime rate or a systematic review of all research.
Peer-reviewed · 2020
Felony arrest rates in Texas
Light, He & Robey · University of Wisconsin–Madison · PNAS
Population & design
Texas felony arrest records, 2012–2018, linked to DHS status indicators and population estimates. Observational comparisons of U.S.-born citizens, legal immigrants and undocumented immigrants.
Finding
The authors found lower felony arrest rates among undocumented immigrants than among U.S.-born citizens and legal immigrants across the offense groups studied.
Limits
One state and a historical period. Arrests reflect enforcement as well as offending. Classification and estimated population denominators introduce uncertainty; results are not extrapolated nationwide.
Historical U.S. census and recent survey records, 1870–2020. The study compares incarceration among foreign-born and U.S.-born men; sample sizes and coverage vary by period.
Finding
The study reports lower incarceration rates among immigrant men over the period studied.
Limits
Birthplace does not establish legal status. Incarceration is not a direct measure of offending; sentencing, enforcement and historical changes affect comparisons. These findings do not describe every subgroup.
