Visiting Chief Judge William H. Alsup of the Northern District of California gave credit for the time already served by Jian Li since his arrest.
Li, his former girlfriend Qingmei Cheng, and 22 others were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as they boarded a boat on Saipan going to Guam.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Schuler, who prosecuted the case, and Li’s court-appointed attorney Joe Hill agreed to the 12 months imprisonment with credit for time already served as recommended by the Federal Probation Office.
An interpreter assisted Li during the sentencing proceedings.
“We are pleased with the court’s sentence. The sentence is sufficient and not greater than necessary to achieve the goals of punishment and deterrence. We are also pleased to conclude the sentencing of the twenty-fourth and final defendant in this case,” Schuler said in an e-mail to the Variety.
Alsup waived the $500 fine since it was determined by the court that Li was indigent.
But a $25 special assessment fee was imposed.
After his release from prison, Li will turn himself to an authorized immigration officer for removal proceedings.
Li will stay outside the United States unless he gets permission from the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
If deportation fails, Li will immediately report to the Federal Probation Office to start serving his one year supervised release, the court said.
Alsup granted Schuler’s motion to dismiss counts two to 22 against Li.
Last March, Li signed a plea agreement admitting to being “predisposed to smuggle aliens from Saipan to Guam, and was not induced to do so by the undercover boat captain [who was a U.S. ICE special agent] or the government.”
Acting as interpreter for Li, Cheng signed a plea agreement also in March, admitting to one count of aiding and abetting the attempted improper entry by an alien.
Cheng was placed on one-year probation. The court imposed a 36-day jail term on her for time already served.
Twenty-one other defendants have signed plea agreements, while another was found guilty after a bench trial in federal court.
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