Alejandra Tapia was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for bringing an illegal immigrant into the United States for financial gain.

[1] Tapia challenged the basis for the District Court's sentencing decision.

Specifically, Tapia challenged basing the length of sentence on speculation about when Tapia would be able to enter and complete the Bureau of Prisons' drug abuse treatment program.

Tapia petitioned the Supreme Court for certiorari, citing the circuit split on the issue.

[4] The issue before the Court was whether the Sentencing Reform Act precludes a federal court from imposing or lengthening a prison term for the purposes of prompting rehabilitation.