NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FEDERAL LAWYERS
Can you go to prison for 8 USC 1324
|Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – we’re a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek, with over 40 years of combined experience handling federal criminal cases nationwide. We’ve represented clients in cases that captivated national attention, like the Anna Delvey Netflix series, the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct case, and many others that other firms said were unwinnable. If you’re reading this, you’re likely facing serious federal charges under 8 USC 1324 – and yes, prison is not only possible, it’s the most common outcome without proper legal representation.
This article explains what 8 USC 1324 actually prohibits, the prison sentences you’re facing, recent 2024-2025 enforcement trends that show federal prosecutors are pushing these cases harder than ever, and why you need a criminal defense attorney immediately – not next week.
Prison is the Standard Outcome for 8 USC 1324 Convictions
Federal law doesn’t mess around with immigration violations. The statute itself – 8 USC 1324 – lays out prison terms that range from five years to life imprisonment, depending on what you allegedly did and whether anyone got hurt. Harboring, transporting, or concealing unauthorized aliens carries up to five years in federal prison for a basic violation. That jumps to ten years if prosecutors prove you did it for money or commercial advantage.
Alien smuggling – actually bringing people across the border – carries up to ten years automatically. If someone dies during the offense, you’re looking at a potential life sentence or even capital punishment under federal law. In 2024 and 2025, federal judges have been handing down sentences that reflect these statutory maximums more often than not.
Leonard Darnell George, a former Customs and Border Protection officer, got 23 years in October 2024 for accepting bribes to let unauthorized migrants and drug-loaded vehicles through the border. Emanuel Isac Celedon received 117 months – nearly ten years – in March 2025 for smuggling aliens through the Laredo port of entry. A former Texas police detective got ten years in October 2024 just for running a stash house. These aren’t outlier sentences, they’re becoming the norm.
Mandatory Minimum Sentences You Can’t Avoid Without a Fight
Certain 8 USC 1324 violations trigger mandatory minimum sentences – meaning the judge has no choice but to impose at least that much prison time, even if your case has sympathetic facts. Three-year mandatory minimums apply to first or second offenses if you brought in or harbored someone you knew would commit a felony, or if you did it for financial gain. Third or subsequent offenses under those same circumstances carry five-year mandatory minimums.
Federal prosecutors know exactly how to structure charges to trigger these minimums. They’ll stack counts – one for each alien involved – because the law treats each person as a separate unit of prosecution. Transport five people and you’re facing five separate counts, each carrying its own sentence that can run consecutively. That’s how sentences that look like “51 months” on paper for one count balloon into real prison time that destroys your life for years.
The only way to challenge mandatory minimums is through aggressive defense work before trial – attacking the evidence that you acted “for financial gain,” challenging whether your conduct actually meets the statutory definition of harboring or transporting, or negotiating with prosecutors who understand their case has problems. Once you’re convicted, those minimums are locked in.
2025 Enforcement is Hitting Record Levels
During the first eight months of Fiscal Year 2023, the government reported nearly 3,900 new convictions for aiding or harboring under Section 1324 – a record. Prosecutions under this statute made up about four percent of immigration cases in 2018 and 2019, but jumped to twenty-two percent by 2022. That trend has continued into 2025, with monthly prosecution rates between 300 and 600 cases.
What changed? Federal priorities shifted hard toward border enforcement and interior enforcement of immigration laws. You’re seeing CBP officers, police detectives, and regular civilians all getting prosecuted and sentenced to serious prison time. The Department of Justice has made it clear through charging decisions that even conduct that might have resulted in warnings or fines five years ago now results in federal indictments.
If you’re under investigation or already charged, understand that prosecutors are operating in an environment where their supervisors want convictions and prison sentences. They’re not looking to offer you a slap on the wrist.
What Conduct Actually Violates 8 USC 1324
The statute criminalizes five distinct types of conduct: alien smuggling (bringing people into the U.S. illegally), domestic transportation of unauthorized aliens, concealing or harboring them, encouraging or inducing them to enter or remain in the U.S., and conspiracy or aiding/abetting any of those acts.
“Harboring” doesn’t require you to hide someone in your basement. Courts have defined it as any conduct that substantially helps an alien remain in the U.S. illegally while avoiding detection. Letting someone stay in your home – even a family member – can be harboring if prosecutors prove you knew their status and intended to shield them from immigration authorities. Giving someone a ride to work, providing them with fake documents, or employing them knowing they’re unauthorized can all be charged as transporting or harboring.
The government must prove you knew the person was an alien and that you acted with intent or reckless disregard about their unauthorized status. “I didn’t know” is a defense, but only if it’s true and you can prove it. Federal agents are skilled at getting people to admit knowledge during interviews – which is why you should never, ever talk to them without a lawyer present.
Here’s something many people don’t realize until it’s too late. You don’t need to profit from the conduct to get charged. Financial gain triggers higher penalties and mandatory minimums, but even helping a friend or family member out of kindness can result in federal prosecution if the government decides to pursue it. In 2025, they’re deciding to pursue it more often.
Why Federal Defense Representation Can’t Wait
Federal cases move differently than state cases. By the time you’re arrested or receive a target letter, federal agents have usually been investigating for months. They’ve reviewed financial records, conducted surveillance, interviewed witnesses, and built what they believe is an airtight case. The indictment is coming – or it’s already here.
Early intervention by an experienced federal criminal defense attorney can sometimes prevent charges from being filed at all, or shape the charges in ways that avoid mandatory minimums. Once you’re indicted, your attorney’s job is to attack the government’s evidence before trial, file motions to suppress statements you made or evidence they obtained illegally, and negotiate from a position of knowledge about what the government can actually prove versus what they’re claiming.
At Spodek Law Group, we’ve handled federal cases where prosecutors initially demanded ten-year sentences but ended up recommending probation after we dismantled their case. We’ve also taken cases to trial that other attorneys said were unwinnable – and won. Our managing partner Todd Spodek is a second-generation criminal defense lawyer who’s represented clients in some of the highest-profile federal cases in recent years, like the Anna Sorokin case that became a Netflix series and the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct matter.
We’re available 24/7 because federal arrests don’t happen on a convenient schedule. If you’ve been charged with violating 8 USC 1324, you’re facing real prison time – not probation, not a fine, but years in a federal facility. Recent 2024-2025 cases show sentences ranging from 15 months to 23 years depending on the specific facts.
The answer to “can you go to prison for 8 USC 1324” is yes – unless you have a defense team that knows how to challenge the government’s case at every stage. That starts with your first call to an attorney, not your first appearance in court.