Federal Public Defender

              Northern District of California

        Barry J. Portman

         Federal Defender

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Treaty Transfer Inmates

My daughter (sister, mother) is an American who was convicted and sentenced in Mexico and has now been brought back to the United States. What is going to happen?

Female federal treaty transfer defendants are often held in the Northern District of California. Therefore, this discussion will assume the inmate is female.

Pursuant to 18 USC § 4106A(b)(1)(A), the United States Parole Commission determines a release date and a period of supervised release for a Treaty Transfer inmate, by applying the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to the sentence for the offense for which the inmate was convicted. This process will begin upon her initial meeting with a lawyer from the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Texas.

Following this meeting (and when the U.S. Marshals can schedule the transfer), she will probably be transferred from the Hudspeth County Jail in Texas to a federal women’s prison in Dublin, California. (If she is very ill or very pregnant, she may stay in Texas. Most women, however, are transferred to California.) Once she is transferred, a lawyer from the Federal Public Defender’s Office in California will go to the prison to meet with her to explain the process, to complete some paperwork with her and to respond to any questions she may have. If you would like to speak with this lawyer, you may do so by calling our office and requesting to speak with the lawyer who handles the “treaty transfer cases.”

The completed paperwork will then be given to a United States Probation officer who has been assigned to her case. This probation officer will also have a copy of the translated Mexican court documents. After conducting some investigation into the defendant's background and her plans upon her release, the probation officer may decide to meet with her. The probation officer will ultimately recommend a sentence to the United States Parole Commission. The lawyer who represents your family member will also submit his or her ideas regarding what the sentence should be to the Parole Commission. The Parole Commission will then determine your family member’s release date.

How long will this process take?

The speed of the sentencing process in the United States depends on the offense of conviction in Mexico, and the amount of custody already served abroad. The process of determining a release date will take at least three months and can take longer if, for instance, the defendant was convicted of transporting a large quantity of drugs, was convicted of murder or has many prior convictions. Keep in mind that her release date may be immediate or it may be months/years in the future. The release date will depend, in part, upon the type of offense she committed and on her background. In no event will the United States sentence be longer than the Mexican sentence.where   

When will she be released?

Once the Parole Commission determines a release date, the Commission will fax this determination to the prison where the defendant is housed. The prison will then subtract her good time and her work credits from this release date. You can check on your family member’s release date at the Bureau of Prisons website. Please keep in mind that until the Parole Commission has determined a release date and the prison has subtracted all good time and work credits, the website will list the release date based on the Mexican sentence the defendant received and not the date which the Parole Commission and prison might give her.