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.
| Pre Jan 20, 2025 Status | Current Status |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Browse the Featured Issue: Representing Clients Before ICE collection
CA1 Remands for BIA to Consider Whether Petitioner Can Relocate Within Guatemala
The court granted the petition for review and remanded because neither the IJ nor the BIA addressed evidence indicating that the petitioner would not be safe in a relocated area of Guatemala or made any mention of the “reasonableness factors” of relocation. (Garcia-Cruz v. Sessions, 5/26/17)
Access to Counsel Should be Non-Negotiable
“Wait, you mean to tell me you are not allowed to contact a lawyer at the airport?“ That is a familiar response when I tell people of the lack of any protocol for allowing access to counsel to those who are coming into the United States from abroad. The fact is, when someone enters the […
AILA/USCIS Field Operations Directorate Liaison Q&As (5/12/17)
Official Q&As from the 5/12/17 AILA liaison meeting with USCIS Field Operations. Topics include staffing, responding to RFEs requesting I-9s, excessive interview wait times, the CIV program, online filing of N-400s, CR green cards, the EB-5 RC Compliance Audit Program, other EB-5 updates, and more.
CA7 Stays Order of Removal While Petition for Review Considered
The court stated that given the irreparable harm that the petitioner’s removal could inflict on his minor U.S.‐citizen children, it decided to stay the order of removal until it ruled on the petition for review of the BIA decision denying his motion to reopen. (Sanchez v. Sessions, 5/24/17)
BIA Says Respondent Did Not Establish that Membership in a Particular Social Group Was Central Reason for Fear
The BIA dismissed the appeal in part, finding respondent did not establish that his membership in a family social group was at least one central reason for past events and future harm he claims to fear. The BIA remanded for review of CAT claim. Matter of L-E-A-, 27 I&N Dec. 40 (BIA 2017)
Bite-Sized Ethics: Desperate Clients, Enforcement Priorities, and Asylum
Before filing an asylum claim, attorneys must determine whether their client has “an arguable basis in law or in fact” to file. In this bite-sized article, learn how to handle cases where clients are desperate to file anything to stay and have a general fear of returning to their country.
BIA Dismisses DHS Appeal of Order Reopening Proceedings Sua Sponte Notwithstanding Departure Bar
Unpublished BIA decision holds IJ did not err in reopening and terminating proceedings sua sponte given sentence modification rendering offense no longer an aggravated felony and notwithstanding respondent’s departure from the country. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Keserovic, 5/24/17)
Trump Administration Budget Aims to Undermine Due Process and Implement Mass Deportation Plan
AILA opposes the Trump administration’s newly released FY2018 budget request, which would fund massive increases in immigration enforcement and border security and undermine due process in immigration law.
CA1 Upholds the BIA and IJ Finding That Petitioner Had Not Suffered Past Persecution
The court denied the petition for review, holding that the Guatemalan petitioner provided no basis for the reversal of the denial of his asylum application nor did he offer a basis on which to conclude that he qualified for withholding of removal. (Morales-Morales v. Sessions, 5/22/17)
BIA Addresses Extraordinary Circumstances Exception for Minors
Unpublished BIA decision holds that “minor” means person under 18 years of age to qualify for extraordinary circumstances exception to asylum filing deadline but that youth of applicants between 18 and 21 can be considered as a factor. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of A-D-, 5/22/17)
BIA Holds 212(h) Aggravated Felony Bar Does Not Apply to LPRs Who Adjusted as Refugees
Unpublished BIA decision holds that adjustment of status under INA 209 is not an “admission” as an LPR for purposes of the aggravated felony bar in INA 212(h). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Peduri, 5/19/17)
BIA Upholds Bond to Respondent with Recent DUI Convictions
Unpublished BIA decision upholds grant of $10,000 bond to respondent convicted of DUI in 2016 in light of strong family ties to United States and wife who was seeking asylum and recently gave birth to a newborn. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of E-D-J-F-T-, 5/19/17)
DOJ OIG Releases Report on Investigation into Senior Executive at EOIR
AILA obtained via FOIA the underlying OIG report identified in the 6/6/17 investigative summary, Findings Concerning Improper Hiring Practices, Inappropriate Interactions with Subordinates and a Contractor, and False Statements by a Senior Executive with the Executive Office for Immigration Review.
MAVNI: A Successful Program Currently SNAFUed
Imagine you are a Polish- or Punjabi-speaking graduate of a United States school and you volunteered to join the U.S. Armed Forces, ready to serve this country and America's interests. Your recruiter told you about the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) Pilot Program which al
BIA Questions Whether $50 Payment Qualifies as “Material” Support
Unpublished BIA decision remands for consideration of whether giving $50 to Al-Shabaab qualified as “material” support for terrorism, instructing IJ to consider whether it had some effect on the organization’s ability to accomplish goals. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of H-I-Y-, 5/18/17)
CA6 Finds BIA Properly Found Petitioners Ineligible to Adjustment
The court denied the petition for review of the BIA’s affirmation of the IJ’s finding that the petitioners were ineligible for adjustment and upheld the BIA’s interpretation of “previously filed” application for adjustment of status. (Gazeli v. Sessions, 5/18/17)
BIA Says Respondent Must Prove Grounds for Mandatory Denial of Relief Do Not Apply
The BIA upheld the Immigration Judge’s adverse credibility finding and affirmed the determination that the respondent has not established eligibility for a waiver of deportability under INA §237(a)(1)(H) or for asylum or withholding of removal. Matter of M-B-C-, 27 I&N Dec. 31 (BIA 2017)
ICE ERO Announces Immigration Arrests Climbed Nearly 40 Percent Compared to 2016
ICE announced that between 1/22/17 and 4/29/17, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) deportation officers administratively arrested 41,318 individuals on civil immigration charges. Between that same time period in 2016, ERO arrested 30,028 individuals.
AILA Quicktake #203: Legislation in House Judiciary Committee
AILA's Director of Government Relations Greg Chen provides updates on three enforcement-only bills being marked up in the House Judiciary Committee on 5/18/17 and how these will undermine public safety.
AILA Statement to House Judiciary Committee on Markup of H.R. 2406, H.R. 2407, and H.R. 2431
On 5/17/17, AILA submitted the following statement opposing three immigration related bills (H.R. 2407, H.R. 2406, and H.R. 2431) scheduled for markup on 5/18/17 before the House Judiciary Committee. These bills would constitute an unprecedented expansion of the immigration enforcement.
AILA Urges House Committee to Move Away from Cruel, Costly, and Ineffective “Enforcement-Only” Immigration Legislation
AILA President Bill Stock urges the House Judiciary Committee to move away from cruel, costly, and ineffective “enforcement-only” immigration reform that completely misses the mark “on the kind of reform our country needs in order to build a 21st century immigration system that benefits us all.”
Sign-On Letter Calling on Members of Congress to Oppose H.R. 2213 and S. 595
On 5/17/17, AILA joined 67 organizations in urging members of Congress to oppose the Anti-Border Corruption Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2213) and the Senate Boots on the Border Act (S.595).
BIA Finds IJ Improperly Acted as Advocate During Hearing
Unpublished BIA decision finds that IJ impermissibly acted as an advocate rather than an impartial adjudicatory by sua sponte calling two of respondent’s relatives to testify and attempting to discredit their testimony. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of M-J-R-, 5/17/17)
BIA Finds California Identity Theft Is Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that identity theft under Cal. Penal Code 530.5(a) is not a CIMT under Linares-Gonzalez v. Lynch 823 F.3d 508 (9th Cir. 2016). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Nguyen, 5/16/17)
BIA Holds Arizona Aggravated DUI Not CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that aggravated driving under the influence under Ariz. Rev. Stat. 28-1383(A)(1) is not a CIMT because statute applies to mere exercise of physical control over a vehicle. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Rosas-Hernandez, 5/16/17)