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
CA5 Says Judge’s Warning of “Likely” Deportation Not Enough Under Padilla
The court held that a judge’s statement at a guilty plea proceeding that deportation is “likely” did not bar the noncitizen defendant from demonstrating prejudice caused by his counsel’s failure to advise him of the deportation consequences of his plea. (United States v. Batamula, 6/2/15)
BIA Says "Ordinary Case" Analysis Should Be Used to Determine if Offense Is Aggravated Felony
BIA held that the inquiry for an aggravated felony determination is whether the conduct encompassed by the crime’s elements presents a substantial risk that physical force may be used in committing the crime in the “ordinary case.” Matter of Mario Francisco-Alonzo, 26 I&N Dec. 594 (BIA 2015)
33 Senators Call on Administration to End Family Detention Policy
A 6/1/15 letter to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson from 33 senators stating, “the prolonged detention of asylum-seeking mothers and children who pose no flight risk or danger to the community is unacceptable and goes against our most fundamental values.”
Supreme Court Says Only Substances Controlled Under §802 Trigger Removal
The Court found that, for removal purposes, INA §237(a)(2)(B)(i) limits the meaning of “controlled substance” to those defined in 21 USC §802, and the Government must connect an element of an immigrant’s conviction to a drug in §802 to trigger removal. (Mellouli v. Lynch, 6/1/15)
DOJ OIL June 2015 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for June 2015, with articles on Kerry v. Din and Mata v. Lynch, as well as a discussion of H-1B fraud prosecution and summaries of circuit court decisions for June 2015.
CA7 Says Petitioner Was Prejudiced by Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
The court granted the petition for review, concluding that the BIA abused its discretion when it determined that the petitioner was not prejudiced by his attorney’s admission that the petitioner was not validly married to a U.S. citizen when he adjusted his status. (Habib v. Lynch, 5/29/15)
AILA Case Examples on Immigration Enforcement
AILA highlights case examples where prosecutorial discretion should have been used in accordance with the November 20, 2014, DHS memorandum on enforcement priorities.
BIA Terminates Proceedings Because Ephedrine Is Not a Federally Controlled Substance
Unpublished BIA decision terminates proceedings because federal law regards ephedrine as a listed chemical rather than a controlled substance and Miss. Code Ann. §41-29-139 does not require intent to manufacture federally controlled substance. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Kaur, 5/28/15)
136 House Members Call For an End to Family Detention
A 5/27/15 letter from 136 members of the House of Representatives to DHS, calling for an end to family detention, stating “We believe the only solution to this problem is to end the use of family detention.”
AILA Applauds 136 House Members Standing Up for America’s Values
AILA President Leslie A. Holman applauded the 136 House members who joined together calling for an end to family detention saying “Calling out the Administration is not done lightly, but it is vital that the federal government understand that continuing this practice is immoral and inhumane.”
AILA Quicktake #127: 5th Circuit Appeals Decides on Emergency Stay
American Immigration Council's Melissa Crow discusses the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals' decision to refuse to lift the emergency stay on President Obama's executive actions yesterday.
Letter Regarding Franco-Gonzales Monitor’s Contact Information
Information about how to contact the court-appointed monitor regarding government compliance with Franco-Gonzalez v. Holder, a class action lawsuit concerning the rights of immigrant detainees in Arizona, California, and Washington with serious mental disabilities.
AILA: 5th Circuit Decision Disappointing But Not Surprising
AILA President Leslie A. Holman responded to today’s decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, saying: “It appeared early on that this particular panel of this particular court was unlikely to grant the stay. Thankfully though, this is far from the last word on the matter.”
BIA Says Predictive Findings of What May Occur in the Future Are Findings of Fact
The BIA held that an IJ’s predictive findings of what may occur in the future are subject to a clearly erroneous standard of review, but whether an applicant has established an objectively reasonable fear of persecution is reviewed de novo. Matter of Z-Z-O-, 26 I&N Dec. 586 (BIA 2015)
CA3 Finds There Is No Duress Exception to the Material Support Bar
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of petitioner’s asylum application, finding that voluntary as well as involuntary material support, even when provided under threat of death, bars an immigrant from receiving asylum or withholding of removal. Amended on 6/1/15. (Sesay v. Att’y Gen., 5/26/15)
CA9 Says Application of U.S. Immigration Laws Was Not Impermissibly Retroactive
The court held U.S. immigration laws could properly be applied to petitioner within the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, even though he entered the territory, committed the crime, and was convicted before U.S. immigration laws were extended to the CNMI. (Mtoched v. Lynch, 5/22/15)
CA2 Upholds BIA’s Determination That Incomplete NTA Can Still Trigger Stop-Time Rule
The court denied the petition for review, holding that BIA’s determination that a notice to appear need not include the date and time of the initial hearing to trigger the stop‐time rule is a permissible construction of the INA and thus entitled to deference. (Guaman-Yuqui v. Lynch, 5/19/15)
House Members Hold Press Conference to #EndFamilyDetention (5/21/15)
Members of the House held a press conference to demand that DHS end family detention. Watch video of this moving and impactful press conference.
CA5 Says Wave-Through at Port of Entry Is an “Admission in Any Status”
The court reversed, holding that a wave-through at a port of entry is an "admission in any status" under §1229b(a)(2), and that petitioner, an LPR, was thus eligible for cancellation of removal relief. (Tula-Rubio v. Lynch, 5/21/15)
BIA Rescinds in Absentia Order Against Respondent Who Moved Prior to Mailing of NTA
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings in light of evidence that the respondent moved prior to the mailing of the Notice to Appear and thus was not notified of his obligation to inform the immigration court of any change of address. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Zapata, 5/21/15)
CA9 Says Grand Theft Conviction in California Not a Categorical Aggravated Felony
The court held that the petitioner’s grand theft offense was not a categorical aggravated felony under California Penal Code §487(a), and that his waiver of his right to appeal to the BIA was not considered and intelligent. (Garcia v. Lynch, 5/20/15)
EOIR Announces New Office of Legislative and Public Affairs Staff
EOIR notice announcing the hiring of two new personnel in the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs (OLPA). Nathan Berkeley joins the OLPA at Headquarters as the first outreach director and LaFondra Lynch will serve in Atlanta as the agency’s first regional public information officer (PIO).
BIA Upholds Grant of Cancellation of Removal Despite Inconclusive Record of Conviction
Unpublished BIA decision holds inconclusive record of conviction does not preclude a respondent from establishing eligibility for cancellation of removal under the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Moncrieffe v. Holder. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of E-H-, 5/20/15)
CA8 Says It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review Hardship Claim
The court denied the petition for review, holding that it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA’s discretionary decision to deny petitioner’s claim of exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to his son. (Salas-Caballero v. Lynch, 5/20/15)
CA9 Says ICE Detention May Be Credited Toward Criminal Sentence
The court reversed, finding that if ICE detains an immigrant during a period of potential criminal prosecution, then he or she is subsequently entitled to credit toward a criminal sentence in accordance with the meaning of “official detention” under 18 USC §3585(b). (Zavala v. Ives, 5/18/15)