Featured Issue: Representing Clients Before ICE
This resource page combines resources for attorneys representing clients before ICE. For information about why AILA is calling for the reduction and phasing out of immigration detention, please see our Featured Issue Page: Immigration Detention and Alternatives to Detention.
Quick Links
- Seeking Stays of Removal
- AILA Practice Pointers and Alerts (continually updated)
- Practice Advisory: Representing Detained Clients in the Virtual Landscape
- Practice Pointer: How to Locate Clients Apprehended by ICE
- Practice Pointer: Preparing for an Order of Supervision Appointment with ICE-ERO
- AILA ICE Liaison Agenda and Meeting Minutes
Communicating with OPLA, ERO, and CROs
The Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) includes 1300 attorneys who represent the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in immigration removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). OPLA litigates all removal cases as well as provides legal counsel to ICE personnel. At present, there are 25 field locations throughout the United States.
Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) manages all aspects of immigration enforcement from arrest, detention, and removal. ERO has 24 field office locations. ERO also manages an “alternative to detention” program that relies almost exclusively on the “Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP)” to monitor individuals in removal proceedings.
Since 2016, ICE has had an Office of Partnership and Engagement (formerly Office of Community Engagement) to be a link between the agency and stakeholders. As part of this office, Community Relations Officers (CROS) are assigned to every field office to work with local stakeholders such as attorneys and nonprofit organizations.
*Headquarters does not provide direct contact numbers or emails for individual employees.* (AILA Liaison Meeting with ICE on April 26, 2023)(AILA Doc. No. 23033004). However, attorneys can contact Chapter Local ICE Liaisons as they may have this information provided to them via local liaison engagement.
- DHS/ICE/OPLA Chief Counsel Contact Information [last updated in 2024, this list no longer appears on ICE.gov as of 1/27/25]
- Contact Information for Local OPLA Offices [last updated in 2024, this information no longer appears on ICE.gov as of 1/27/25]
- ERO Field Offices Contact Information*
- OPE Community Relations Officers
- ICE Check-In Scheduling Website
- ICE Online Change of Address Website
Latest on Enforcement Priorities & Prosecutorial Discretion
Executive Order 14159 (90 FR 8443, 1/29/25) directs DHS to set priorities that protect the public safety and national security interests of the American people, including by ensuring the successful enforcement of final orders of removal, enforcement of the INA and other Federal laws related to the illegal entry and unlawful presence of [noncitizens] in the United States and the enforcement of the purposes of this order. Given the January 25, 2025, confirmation of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, a memorandum detailing enforcement priorities may be issued in the coming weeks.
An unpublished ICE memo from acting ICE Director Caleb Vitello entitled “Interim Guidance: Civil Immigration Enforcement Actions in or near Courthouses” makes reference to targeted noncitizens and includes:
- National security or public safety threats;
- Those with criminal convictions;
- Gang members;
- Those who have been ordered removed from the United States but have failed to depart; and/or
- Those who have re-entered the country illegally after being removed.
Procedures and email inboxes created under the Biden Administration to request Prosecutorial Discretion no longer appear on the ICE website. AILA members are encouraged to review current DOJ regulations entitled “Efficient Case and Docket Management in Immigration Proceedings” for alternative basis for seeking termination or administrative closure.
Access to Counsel
- ERO eFile:
- An online system developed to electronically file G-28s with ERO. Attorneys and accredited representatives may register for ERO eFile accounts and may also sponsor law students and law graduates who work under their supervision. See AILA’s practice alert (AILA Doc. No. 24051506) for more information.
- ICE Attorney Information and Resources Page
- AILA Practice Alert: Updates to the ICE Attorney Information and Resource Page
Filing Administrative Complaints on Behalf of Detained and Formerly Detained Clients
- Online Intake Form for the Detention Ombudsman (myOIDO)
- Available for complaints for issues in ICE and CBP Custody nationwide, including to submit complaints about access to counsel problems on behalf of currently or previously detained clients.
- Online Complaint Form for DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL)
- Oversight of Immigration Detention: An Overview - May 16, 2022
(provides a list of agencies with which attorneys may file administrative complaints of detention center violations) - Immigration Judge Complaint Toolkit – August 31, 2022
- Practice Alert: Template for CRCL Complaint Regarding Failures to Provide Language Access – July 16, 2021
Selected ICE Policies and Current Status
For comprehensive comparison of current and prior ICE policies, please review the “Immigration Policy Tracker (IPTP).” The IPTP is a project of Professor Lucas Guttentag working with teams of Stanford and Yale law students and leading national immigration experts.
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Browse the Featured Issue: Representing Clients Before ICE collection
Address Change for the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor in York, Pennsylvania
The Office of the Principal Legal Advisor in York, Pennsylvania, has moved from its location at the York County Prison. Any mail or documents sent to that address will no longer be properly served upon DHS. Notice includes new address.
Immigrant Advocacy Groups File Suit Challenging the Weaponization of Immigration Courts
Several immigrant advocacy groups filed a lawsuit challenging the weaponization of the nation’s immigration court system, or the creation of “an adjudication system where applicants for asylum are supposed to lose.” (Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center v. Trump, 12/18/19)
CA3 Finds Conspiracy to Commit Assault with a Dangerous Weapon Under 18 USC §1959(a)(6) Is Not an Aggravated Felony
The court granted the petition for review, concluding that the petitioner’s conviction under 18 USC §1959(a)(6) was not an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(F), (U), or (J), and thus that the petitioner was not removable as charged. (Quinteros v. Att’y Gen., 12/17/19)
AILA Submits Amicus Brief on Judicial Review of Convention Against Torture (CAT) Claims
AILA submitted an amicus brief in Nasrallah v. Barr urging the Eleventh Circuit to find that 8 U.S.C. §1252(a)(2)(C) does not impede judicial review of torture claims.
District Court Enjoins ICE from Alleging “Fugitive” Status as a 7(A) FOIA Exemption
The district court in Colorado held that ICE’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of denying any FOIA request when made by or on behalf of a noncitizen whom ICE deemed a “fugitive” under the immigration laws was not a proper categorical application of Exemption 7(A). (Smith v. ICE, 12/16/19)
DHS Releases Memos and Management Directives
DHS released memos and management directives on law enforcement, advanced parole, removal, VAWA, and other topics.
BIA Holds Second Degree Assault Under N.Y.P.L. §120.05(4) Not a Crime of Violence
Unpublished BIA decision holds second degree assault under N.Y.P.L. §120.05(4) not a crime of violence because it can be committed with a mens rea of recklessness. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Hall, 12/16/19)
BIA Reopens Proceedings Sua Sponte in Light of Significant Equities
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte for respondent with LPR spouse, four U.S. citizen children, and nine U.S. citizen grandchildren. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Luis, 12/13/19)
BIA Holds Wisconsin Child Enticement Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that child enticement under Wis. Stat. 948.07 is not a CIMT because it does not require defendants to know the victim was a minor. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Karnga, 12/13/19)
AILA Submits Amicus Brief Urging the Eleventh Circuit to Reverse Panel Decision
AILA submitted an amicus brief in Patel v. U.S. Attorney General arguing that the question of whether Mr. Patel is inadmissible as having made a false claim to U.S. citizenship, and therefore eligible for adjustment is reviewable, therefore recommending the preceding decision be reversed.
District Court Finds 8 CFR §241.14(d) Does Not Authorize Petitioner’s Ongoing and Potentially Indefinite Detention
A federal court in New York held that the petitioner’s continued immigration detention was not lawfully authorized by 8 CFR §241.14(d), and ordered an evidentiary hearing to determine whether INA §236(a) lawfully authorizes the petitioner’s ongoing detention. (Hassoun v. Searls, 12/13/19)
BIA Rules that IJs Are Not Required to Personally Identify Inconsistencies in the Record Before Relying on Them to Make Adverse Credibility Findings
BIA ruled that if inconsistencies in the record are obvious and previously identified by applicant or DHS, an IJ is not personally required to specify them and solicit an explanation before relying on them to make an adverse credibility finding. Matter of Y-I-M-, 27 I&N Dec. 724 (BIA 2019)
Local EOIR Liaison Meeting Minutes with ACIJ Clay Martin and Court Administrator Ponce De Leon
Local EOIR Liaison meeting minutes with ACIJ Clay Martin and Court Administrator Ponce De Leon at the San Antonio Immigration Court. Topics discussed include MPP, NTA filing issues, E-filing, and more.
Practice Alert: Updates to the BIA Practice Manual, Briefing Extensions Now Disfavored
AILA provides a practice alert outlining recent updates to the Board of Immigration Appeals Practice Manual. Special thanks to the AILA EOIR Liaison Committee.
ICE Releases FY2019 Enforcement and Removal Operations Report
ICE released a report summarizing ERO activities during FY2019. In FY2019, ICE ERO arrested 143,099 individuals and removed 267,258. Per ICE, in FY2019, ICE ERO activity was significantly impacted by the reallocation of resources, including approximately 350 ERO officers, to the southern border.
AILA Urges the Second Circuit to Follow Other Circuits in Rejecting Matter of Mendoza-Hernandez
AILA submitted an amicus brief in Guasco v. Barr arguing that the BIA’s conclusion that the two-step notice process triggers the stop-time rule conflicts with the statute’s unambiguous text and unreasonably departs from the consistent recognition that a NTA is a single document.
CA9 Finds IJ and BIA Erred in Relying on Lack of Corroboration to Support Adverse Credibility Determination
Granting the petition for review, the court held that the petitioner, who alleged that Chinese government officials had subjected her to a forced abortion, was entitled to notice and an opportunity to produce corroborating evidence or explain why it was unavailable. (Qiu v. Barr, 12/11/19)
CA8 Finds Guatemalan Humanitarian Asylum Applicants Failed to Show Past Persecution Based on a Protected Ground
The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying the petitioners’ request for humanitarian asylum, because the petitioners had failed to make an initial showing of refugee status by connecting their past persecution to a protected ground. (Mejia-Lopez v. Barr, 12/11/19)
CA8 Upholds Denial of Application for Withholding of Removal Based on Petitioner’s Membership in His Family
The court held that substantial evidence in the record supported the IJ and BIA’s finding that the petitioner had failed to establish a clear probability that he would suffer persecution in Mexico on account of his membership in his family. (De La Rosa Garcia v. Barr, 12/10/19)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Motion to Reopen Based on Changed Country Conditions in China Regarding Religious Persecution
The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying as untimely the petitioner’s motion to reopen, because the evidence in the record showed that religious persecution in China had not sufficiently increased since the petitioner’s hearing in 2011. (Lin v. Barr, 12/10/19)
USCIS Issues Guidance Implementing AG’s Decisions on Post-Sentencing Changes and Impact of DUI Convictions on Good Moral Character Determination
USCIS issued a policy alert incorporating the AG’s decisions in Matter of Thomas and Thompson regarding how post-sentencing changes impact a conviction for immigration purposes and Matter of Castillo-Perez regarding how two or more DUI convictions affect GMC determinations.
AILA Submit Amicus Brief to the Ninth Circuit on the Term “Crime of Child Abuse”
AILA submitted an amicus brief to the Ninth Circuit in Blanco-Hernandez v. Barr urging the court to uphold the Supreme Court’s opinion in Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions on the interpretation of the term “crime of child abuse” as it relates to consensual sex with a person 16 or older.
BIA Rules That Torturous Conduct by a Public Official Not Acting in an Official Capacity Is Not Covered by CAT
BIA ruled that only torturous conduct committed by a public official acting “in an official capacity” “under color of law” is covered by CAT. Conduct by an official not acting in an official capacity is not covered by the Convention. Matter of O-F-A-S-, 27 I&N Dec. 709 (BIA 2019)
TRAC Report Shows ICE Detains Fewer Immigrants with Serious Criminal Convictions Under Trump Administration
TRAC found that despite the growth of ICE detention, the number of detainees with serious criminal convictions has been falling steadily since 2017. Further, data showed that gang violence, terrorism, election fraud - convictions often associated with undocumented migrants - are remarkably rare.
BIA Finds New York Firearm Definition Includes Antique Firearms
Unpublished BIA decision holds criminal sale of a firearm under N.Y.P.L. 265.11(1) not a firearms offense or aggravated felony because it applies to loaded antique firearms. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of H-A-T-M-, 12/6/19)