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
IJ Finds That None of Respondent's Convictions Make Him Removable
The IJ granted the motion to terminate, finding that DHS failed to show that respondent had been convicted in NY of two or more CIMT not arising out of a single scheme of misconduct, or of a violation of a law relating to a federally controlled substance. Courtesy of Patricia Cooper.
National Sign-On Letter to DHS on Implementation of November 2014 PD Policy
A 4/15/15 letter from AILA and more than 100 other organizations to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson expressing concern about the implementation of the November 2014 memorandum on prosecutorial discretion (PD) and enforcement priorities.
AILA DOS Liaison Q&As (4/15/15)
DOS responses to AILA/DOS liaison Q&As, which address questions relating to communication with consular posts, visa refusal letters, visa interview wait times, alternative venues for immigrant visa interviews, visa revocations, misrepresentations made by minors, E-3 adjudications, J-1s, and NVC.
BIA Permits Withdrawal of Erroneous and Prejudicial Attorney Concession
Unpublished BIA decision allows withdrawal of erroneous concession that respondent entered without inspection, noting that it was not a tactical decision because it rendered the respondent ineligible to adjust. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Herrera Lopez, 4/15/15)
TRAC Report Finds El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala Account for 38% of Immigration Court Filings
A TRAC report found that three Central American countries—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—account for over a third (38 percent) of removal orders sought by DHS so far for FY2015. During FY2014, these three countries made up over half (55 percent) of filings in U.S. Immigration Court.
EOIR Announces Change to Immigration Judges Hearing Cases Out of Dilley
EOIR news release stating that it will reassign immigration cases originating at the Dilley hearing location from the Denver Immigration Court to the Miami Immigration Court. Miami IJs will also conduct credible fear reviews in cases that DHS refers to EOIR on or after 5/1/15.
District Court Says IJs in Seattle and Tacoma Immigration Courts Must Consider Conditional Parole
The court granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and ordered declaratory and injunctive relief, holding that IJs in Seattle and Tacoma presiding over bond hearings must consider whether to grant conditional parole in lieu of imposing a monetary bond. (Rivera v. Holder, 4/13/15)
IJ Reopens Removal Proceedings Sua Sponte Based on Approved U Visa
The IJ granted the respondent's motion to reopen the removal proceedings sua sponte, based on the respondent's approved U visa nonimmigrant status. Courtesy of Marc Esquenazi.
CA9 Vacates Sentence of Defendant Who Pleaded Guilty to Illegal Re-entry
The court vacated the defendant's sentence for illegal re-entry and remanded for resentencing, holding that the government improperly withheld a motion for a third-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility. (United States v. Sahagun-Gallegos, 4/10/15)
AILA Talking Points on Prosecutorial Discretion
AILA talking points explaining prosecutorial discretion and the November 20, 2014, DHS memorandum on enforcement priorities, “Policies for the Apprehension, Detention, and Removal of Undocumented Immigrants.”
AILA Quicktake #124: Deferred Action Litigation Update
Patrick Taurel, American Immigration Council's DACA Legal Services Fellow, provides updates on two rulings made this week in Crane v. Johnson and Texas v. United States regarding President Obama's 2012 and 2014 deferred action programs.
CA9 Says One Form of Imputed Political Opinion Is Perceived Whistleblowing
The court granted, in part, a petition for review of BIA’s denial of asylum and withholding of removal, finding that BIA failed to consider whether petitioner had established the requisite nexus to a protected ground based on his imputed whistleblowing. (Khudaverdyan v. Holder, 2/27/15)
CA2 Remands to Consider Whether Misprision of Felony Is a CIMT
The court concluded that the BIA should determine whether it still adheres to the position that misprision of felony qualifies as a “crime involving moral turpitude,” and if so, whether the BIA’s position can be applied retroactively to petitioner’s case. (Lugo v. Holder, 4/9/15)
CA8 Upholds Denial Where Persecutor Was Motivated By Personal Retribution
The court upheld the denial of asylum, because petitioner’s persecutor was motivated by personal retribution, and fear of personal retribution alone is not a valid basis for asylum. (Martinez-Galarza v. Holder, 4/9/15)
BIA Terminates Proceedings Under Personal Use of Marijuana Exception
Unpublished BIA decision terminates proceedings, because DHS failed to establish what portion of 110 grams of marijuana that respondent and co-defendant were convicted of possessing belonged to respondent himself. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Mercehlski, 4/9/15)
AILA Amicus Brief on Use of the Modified Categorical Approach Under Descamps
AILA amicus brief filed with the Fifth Circuit in Garcia v. Holder arguing that a statute is divisible, and thus permits use of the modified categorical approach under Descamps, only if there is an alternative set of elements that has to be proven.
BIA Remands Asylum Claim and Finds Petitioner Suffered Past Persecution
Unpublished BIA decision finding that remand is warranted for the IJ to allow DHS an opportunity to rebut the presumption that the respondent, who suffered incidents of abuse and interrogation during a six-day detention in China, has a well-founded fear of persecution. Courtesy of Donglai Yang.
CA5 Affirms Dismissal of Plaintiffs' Claims in DACA Case
The court held that Mississippi and ICE agents lacked standing to challenge DACA, because they failed to allege a sufficiently concrete and particularized injury, and that the DACA program is a valid exercise of prosecutorial discretion. (Crane v. Johnson, 4/7/15)
USCIS Message: Timing of DACA Renewal Applications
USCIS message on timing for filing DACA renewal applications, stating that on 3/27/15, USCIS began mailing renewal reminder notices to DACA recipients 180 days prior to the expiration date of their current period of DACA. Previously, these reminder notices were mailed 100 days in advance.
BIA Remands to Allow Immigration Judge to Determine Applicant Competency
In an unpublished decision, the BIA held that the immigration judge should have taken measures to determine whether the applicant was competent to participate in immigration proceedings, and remanded the case for further proceedings. Courtesy of Edgardo Quintanilla.
AILA Quicktake #122: CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project
AILA's Director of Practice and Professionalism Reid Trautz shares why the new CARA project, made up of AILA, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, the American Immigration Council, and the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, is so important to ended family detention.
EOIR OPPM 15-01: Hearing Procedures for Cases Covered by New DHS Priorities and Initiatives (Rescinded 6/15/17)
This memo was rescinded 6/15/17. EOIR OPPM 15-01 on hearing procedures for cases covered by the 11/20/14 DHS priorities and initiatives. ICE should review cases prior to hearings and be prepared to indicate if the case is a priority. Judges are encouraged to use docketing tools to resolve cases.
ICE Guidance on Cases Pending Before EOIR Impacted by Secretary Johnson’s 11/20/14 PD Memo
ICE memo with additional guidance to Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) attorneys regarding pending proceedings involving individuals who may fall outside of the revised DHS enforcement priorities in light of Secretary Johnson’s 11/20/14 prosecutorial discretion memo.
USCIS Alert Regarding Immigration Scams on Expanded DACA/DAPA
USCIS alert reminding stakeholders that due to a temporary injunction issued in Texas v. United States, USCIS has been prevented from accepting requests under the expanded DACA guidelines and suspended plans to accept requests for DAPA.
AILA Amicus Brief Argues Individuals Subject to Reinstatement Can Be Eligible for Asylum
AILA amicus brief filed with the Eleventh Circuit in Lanza v. Holder, arguing that an individual is who is subject to reinstatement of removal is still eligible to apply for asylum, and should not be placed in “withholding only” proceedings.