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
Brookings Report with Statistics on the DACA Program
Brookings report on the first year of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, with statistics drawn from a FOIA request to DHS requesting information on the size of the program, demographics, geographic distribution, age, and year of arrival of applicants.
AILA Quicktake #48: Pocket DACA (Updated 8/15/13)
Pocket DACA is a new app for smartphones and tablets that will help immigrants brought to this country as children understand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process. Patrick Taurel, DACA Legal Services Fellow with the American Immigration Council, joins us to discuss the app.
Pocket DACA: A How-To Guide
Please use this one-minute video to guide you through the helpful Pocket DACA App. This newly-released app is designed to help immigrants brought to this country as children understand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process and link them with AILA attorneys when needed.
New “Pocket DACA” Mobile App Helps Young Immigrants Apply for Deferred Action
AILA, AIC, the Immigration Advocates Network, and the Own the Dream campaign are proud to announce the launch of a new “Pocket DACA” app for smartphones and tablets that will help immigrants brought to this country as children understand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals process.
The New Provisional Waiver – A Promising Program Foundering
For a year we waited for USCIS to put into effect changes it had discussed in processing the needed waiver for the 10 year bar found in INA § 212(a)(9)(B) for those people married to U.S. Citizens who had entered the United States without inspection. The announcement of the change to a “provisional
CA9 Remands for BIA to Reconsider Landownership as Membership in a Particular Social Group
The court granted the petitions to review and remanded for the BIA to reconsider on the question of whether landownership may form the basis for membership in a particular social group for purposes of eligibility for asylum and withholding. (Cordoba v. Holder, 8/13/13)
CA10 Upholds Denial, Says Asylum Seeker from Nepal Can Safely Relocate
In a nonprecedential decision, the court upheld the BIA’s decision that the petitioner—who suffered past persecution from Maoists in Nepal—could live without a well-founded fear of persecution in Nepal if he relocates to the capital. (Rana v. Holder, 8/13/13)
CA7 Holds Admitting Hearsay Documents Violated Procedural Rights
The court vacated and remanded, holding that the petitioner’s procedural rights were violated when the IJ admitted and based his decision on two hearsay documents relating to the alleged "smugglee." (Pouhova v. Holder, 8/13/13)
CA1 Finds Petitioner Did Not Show Changed Country Conditions for Chinese Christians
The court upheld the BIA’s determination that there have not been changed country conditions for Christians in China practicing in unregistered churches such as to warrant an exception to the time limits on motions to reopen. (Liu v. Holder, 8/13/13)
BIA Remands Due to Pending Visa Petition in Separate Proceedings
Unpublished BIA decision where the Board remanded the record to the IJ to determine if further continuance is warranted in light of the pending visa petition in separate proceedings. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Owusu, 8/13/13)
BIA Reopens Proceedings After Finding Exceptional Circumstances Justifying her Failure to Appear
Unpublished BIA decision where the Board reopened proceedings after finding the respondent's daughter's failure to provide the hearing notices constituted exceptional circumstances justifying the respondent’s failure to appear. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Scaranni, 8/13/13)
BIA Upheld Order of Removal Due to Unauthorized Employment
Unpublished BIA decision where the Board upheld an order of removal and denial of AOS stating that the mere filing of an adjustment application does not stop the counting of the period of unauthorized employment for purposes of INA 245(k). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Yav, 8/13/13)
BIA Reopens Proceedings Sua Sponte After Incorrectly Requiring Waiver of Inadmissibility
Unpublished BIA decision where the Board reopened proceedings sua sponte upon finding it incorrectly concluded in a prior decision that she made a material misrepresentation that required her to obtain a 212(i) waiver of inadmissibility. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Muasher, 8/13/13)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Waivers and Adjustment of Status Due to Fraud
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of a §212(i) waiver, the denial of an unlawful presence waiver, and the denial of adjustment of status due to overwhelming evidence of fraud. (Urizar-Carrascoza v. Holder, 8/12/13)
CA2 Holds LPR Status Not Required for Derivative Citizenship Under INA §321(a)(5)
The court granted the petition for review and remanded to the BIA, holding that the Petitioner, who “resided permanently” in the U.S. before turning 18, could claim derivative citizenship from his parents under INA §321(a)(5), even though he was not an LPR. (Nwozuzu v. Holder, 8/12/13)
BIA Terminates Proceedings Finding Respondent Was Paroled In
Unpublished BIA decision terminating proceedings where DHS agreed that respondent was paroled in, and thus eligible to adjust status under the Cuban Adjustment Act, even though he initially entered without inspection. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Travieso-Izquierdo, 8/12/13)
BIA Remands Over DHS Opposition Even Though I-130 was Referred for Reconsideration
Unpublished BIA decision where the Board granted a motion to remand over DHS opposition as the approved I-130 has been referred for reconsideration but there is no evidence that the approved visa petition has been reconsidered and revoked. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Dontoh, 8/12/13)
BIA Finds Attorney Inability to Contact Respondent Constitutes Exceptional Circumstances
Unpublished BIA decision where the Board reopened proceedings after finding the respondent's attorney's inability to notify him that he received the hearing notice constituted exceptional circumstances, justifying his failure to appear. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Araiza, 8/12/13)
TRAC Report on Immigration Court Cases Closed Based on Prosecutorial Discretion
Transactional Records Access Clearing House (TRAC) tool allowing for searching on the breakdown of immigration court cases closed based on prosecutorial discretion by immigration court and hearing location. Charts are updated with new data as it is available.
CA1 Denies Asylum to Pakistani Petitioner Fleeing Taliban
The court found that the petitioner was unable to show a connection between his mistreatment and the Pakistani government, did not show he could not reasonably relocate within Pakistan, and denied asylum, withholding and CAT relief. (Khan v. Holder, 8/9/13)
CA7 Conducts Social Group Analysis and Remands Asylum Denial for Albanian Woman
The court granted the petition for review and remanded, finding that the BIA erred in its relocation assessment as well as its social group analysis of young women targeted for prostitution by traffickers in Albania. (Cece v. Holder, 8/9/13)
BIA Upheld Denial Because Respondent Did Not Depart Voluntarily
Unpublished BIA decision upholding the denial of the motion to reopen because the respondent’s failure to depart voluntarily made him ineligible to adjust status for 10 years, even though his criminal case was dismissed. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Orozco Garcia, 8/9/13)
BIA Remands To Give Respondent Opportunity to Find Representation
Unpublished BIA decision remanding the case to give Respondent reasonable opportunity to obtain counsel after IJ ordered him removed at his second master calendar hearing despite his assertion that he was attempting to find representation. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Hervens, 8/9/13)
CA5 Finds Petitioner Could Not Show Prejudice of English-Only Notice of Hearing (NOH)
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of the motion to reopen the in absentia deportation proceedings, finding since the OSC was written in Spanish, the petitioner could not show prejudice the NOH was only in English, as he also claimed he did not receive the NOH at all. (Ojeda v. Holder, 8/8/13)
BIA Reopened Proceedings After Evidence of U.S. Citizen Child is Provided
Unpublished BIA decision where the Board reopened proceedings due to newly submitted evidence that the respondent was the father of a U.S. citizen child born to his wife. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Roa-Carranza, 8/8/13)