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
BIA Says Transporting a Loaded Firearm Under Oklahoma Law Is Categorically a Firearms Offense
The BIA held that the crime of transporting a loaded firearm under Oklahoma law is categorically a firearms offense under INA §237(a)(2)(C), in light of the “expansive text and history” of §237(a)(2)(C). Matter of Flores-Abarca, 26 I&N Dec. 922 (BIA 2017)
Letter to EOIR: Atlanta Immigration Court Judges Fail to Uphold Ethical Standards
A 3/2/17 letter from the Southern Poverty Law Center and Emory University School of Law with findings of observations of the Atlanta Immigration Court, stating that Atlanta Immigration Court judges are failing to uphold ethical standards that ensure immigrants receive fair and impartial treatment.
DHS Provides Q&As Regarding DHS Implementation of the Executive Order on Border Security and Immigration Enforcement
DHS issued Q&As, last updated on 3/2/17, to answer Frequently Asked Questions about how the Department will operationally implement the guidance provided by the president’s Executive Order on Border Security and Immigration Enforcement.
BIA Holds Removal Does Not Moot Appeal of Denial of Motion to Rescind In Absentia Order
Unpublished BIA decision denies DHS motion to reconsider decision rescinding in absentia order due to lack of notice and holds that appeal was not rendered moot by respondent’s removal. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Aparicio, 3/2/17)
Reactions to the President’s Joint Address to Congress
Several members of AILA's Executive Committee share their reactions to President Trump's Joint Address to Congress on February 28, 2017: “We agree that we have to restore integrity and the rule of law to our borders, and especially to the agencies responsible for enforcing that law. The record of di
EOIR Releases FY2016 Statistics Yearbook
EOIR released its FY2016 statistics yearbook with data on cases before immigration courts, BIA, and OCAHO, as well as appeals of IJ decisions to the BIA. The data includes information on respondents’ cases by naturalization, language, and disposition, and provides asylum case information.
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Because Attorney Provided Wrong Hearing Date
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order of removal sua sponte due to attorney misadvising respondent as to the date of the hearing. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Alcaraz, 2/27/17)
BIA Holds Arizona Possession of Drug Parapheralia Not a Controlled Substance Offense
Unpublished BIA decision holds that possession of drug paraphernalia under Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13-3415 is not an offense relating to a controlled substance under Mellouli v. Lynch, 135 S. Ct. 1980 (2015). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Pimber-Cirerol, 2/15/17)
CA5 Overturns Preliminary Injunction Blocking Enforcement of Texas’s Immigrant-Harboring Law
The court found that there was no reasonable interpretation of a TX law criminalizing the “harboring of illegal aliens” by which merely renting housing or providing social services to undocumented persons constitutes “harboring” them “from detection.” (Cruz et al. v. Abbott et al., 2/23/17)
CA4 Says Determining Whether Petitioner’s Evidence Meets Good Faith Marriage Standard Is Subject to De Novo Review
The court granted the petition for review and remanded, holding that the BIA should have reviewed de novo the IJ’s ultimate legal judgment that the petitioner’s evidence did not meet the good faith marriage standard of INA §216(c)(4)(B). (Upatcha v. Sessions, 2/22/17)
CA4 Finds BIA’s Interpretation of INA §209(b) Was Reasonable
The court denied the petition for review, holding that the BIA’s reliance on its precedential decision in Matter of C-J-H-, which held that noncitizens who adjust to LPR status under INA §209(b) do not retain their asylum status, was reasonable. (Mahmood v. Sessions, 2/22/17)
DOJ Memo: Rescission of Memorandum on Use of Private Prisons
DOJ issued a memo to the Federal Bureau of Prisons rescinding the memo dated 8/18/16 entitled “Reducing our Use of Private Prisons,” eliminating the review of private prison contracts at the end of their term.
DHS Provides Q&As Regarding DHS Implementation of the Executive Order on Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States
DHS issued Q&As to answer Frequently Asked Questions on how the Department will operationally implement the guidance provided by the president’s Executive Order on Interior Enforcement.
AILA Quicktake #189: DHS Memos on Interior and Border Enforcement
AILA's Director of Advocacy Greg Chen provides details on two memos signed by DHS Secretary Kelly implementing President Trump's Executive Orders on interior and border enforcement.
AILA: Ramped Up Enforcement Will Trample Due Process and Harm Families and Communities
AILA condemned the recently released DHS memos that set forth a series of aggressive enforcement tactics to be rolled out on a massive scale. These policies, if implemented as written, will trample due process.
DHS Fact Sheet: Executive Order: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements
DHS issued a fact sheet on the Executive Order on Border Security, outlining both the authorities and the actions taken by the memo.
DHS Fact Sheet: Executive Order: Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States
DHS issued a fact sheet on the Executive Order on Interior Enforcement, outlining both the authorities and the actions taken by the memo. Fact sheet states, “Effective immediately… Department personnel shall faithfully execute the immigration laws of the United States against all removable aliens.”
AILA Summary and Analysis of the DHS Memorandum on Border Enforcement
AILA provides a detailed summary and analysis of the February 20, 2017, DHS memorandum signed by Secretary Kelly, “Implementing the President’s Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements Policies.” This memorandum implements President Trump's Executive Order on border enforcement.
ICE Memo on Implementing the President’s Border Security and Interior Immigration Enforcement Policies
Obtained via FOIA by ProPublica is an ICE memo implementing EO 13767 and EO 13768 on border security and interior enforcement with guidance stating “ERO officers will take enforcement action against all removable aliens….” Guidance also included on detention and parole policy, UACs, and more.
CBP Issues Memo on Implementation of EOs 13767 and 13768 and the Secretary’s Implementation Directions of February 17, 2017
CBP issued a redacted memo with the steps that the Office of Field Operations will begin executing immediately in relation to Executive Orders 13767 and 13768 and DHS Secretary’s implementation directions of February 17, 2017.
CBP Issues Memo on EOs 13767 and 13768 and the Secretary’s Implementation Directions of February 20, 2017
CBP released a redacted memo with the steps the Office of Field Operations will take to begin executing DHS implementation directions to ICE, CBP, and USCIS regarding EOs 13767 and 13768.
CBP Issues Memo on the SIGMA Release of 41 Enhancements
CBP issued an undated memo regarding changes to the SIGMA system to enhance data capture while assisting the Office of Field operations in reporting field office and local activities related to custody including the deferred inspection dashboard and ICE referrals regarding detention of individuals.
DHS Released a Memo Implementing President Trump's Executive Order on Interior Enforcement
DHS issued a memorandum signed by DHS Secretary John Kelly implementing President Trump's Executive Order on Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States that was signed on January 25, 2017.
DHS Released a Memo Implementing President Trump's Executive Order on Border Enforcement
DHS issued a memorandum signed by DHS Secretary John Kelly implementing President Trump's Executive Order on Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements that was signed on January 25, 2017.
TRAC Report: Immigration Court Deciding More Cases
TRAC report demonstrates that in FY2017, the Immigration Court has steadily increased the number of cases it has completed, with case completions during FY2017 being above the comparable period from the previous year. TRAC found that removal orders are also up so far in FY2017.