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
CA3 Finds Petitioner Ineligible for 212(c) Relief
The court held that the petitioner - who spent more than 5 years in prison for an aggravated felony committed in 2007, but first applied for 212(c) in 1994 - is statutorily precluded from 212(c) relief. (Lupera-Espinoza v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 5/28/13)
AILA/CBP Liaison Teleconference Notes (5/28/13)
The AILA CBP Liaison Committee offers notes from the 5/28/13 CBP teleconference, including topics such as unlawful presence, I-94, new FOIA director, NAFTA adjudications, seizing documents upon issuing NTA, referral to mental health providers, L blanket admissions, and admission errors.
CA1 Finds BIA Erred in Pakistani Withholding Case
The court held that the BIA’s decision on withholding of removal was contrary to the evidence, finding that the mistreatment suffered by the Pakistani petitioner rose to the level of persecution and was not merely part of a private dispute. (Javed v. Holder, 5/24/13)
CA11 Vacates Decision on Equitable Tolling
The court vacated its prior decision and remanded for the BIA to determine in the first instance why the one-motion rule is, or is not, a non-jurisdictional claim processing rule subject to equitable tolling. (Ruiz-Turcios v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 5/24/13)
EOIR Fact Sheet on Attorney eRegistry Program
EOIR fact sheet on the new mandatory electronic registry, eRegistry, for attorneys and fully accredited representatives that will be used to collect information to maintain a centralized information repository of registrants for both the immigration court and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).
EOIR Online Resource on eRegistry Program for Each Immigration Court
EOIR online resource page providing links to each immigration court around the country which provides detailed information on the eRegistry validation process for that specific court in question.
EOIR FAQs on Attorney eRegistry Program
EOIR frequently asked questions (FAQ) document on mandatory electronic registry, known as eRegistry. After December 10, 2013, attorneys and fully accredited representatives will be required to complete the registry process as a condition to practice before EOIR.
EOIR General Instructions on Attorney eRegistry Program
EOIR instructions for its mandatory electronic registration program known as eRegistry. Includes sections on who is required to register, how to register, consequences of failing to register and more.
IJ Finds Respondent Did Not Abandon LPR Status After Parents’ Divorce
IJ found that even though the parents abandoned their own lawful permanent resident statuses, and the respondent was out of the U.S. for more than 180 days as a result of her parents’ divorce, the intent was for the respondent to retain her own status. Courtesy of Eric Schultz.
TRAC Report on Removal Decisions of ICE Detainees
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) report from May 2013 showing that out of the 1,500 individuals taken into custody by ICE on a typical work day, the latest ICE data record shows that about 1,000 were eventually removed and only 360 individuals were released after posting bond.
CA11 Finds No Implied Exception to Material Support Bar
The court held that there is no implied exception to the material support bar for support provided to a terrorist organization involuntarily or under duress. (Alturo v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 5/21/13)
Readout of President & Vice President’s Meeting with DREAMer Families
White House read out of a 5/21/13 meeting with young immigrants who received deferred action and with siblings and spouses of undocumented immigrants where President Obama reiterated his commitment to passing a bipartisan, commonsense immigration reform bill this year.
CA7 Remands Asylum Case of Political Activist from Moldova
The court found that the IJ and BIA applied the wrong legal standard in determining whether the petitioner had shown past persecution for his political activities in Moldova, and remanded the case to the BIA. (Prodan v. Holder, 5/20/13)
CA4 Holds Conviction Is Not an Aggravated Felony, Reinstates Asylee Status
The court held that the conduct the petitioner admitted to and on which his conviction for second degree assault necessarily rests does not constitute a crime of violence, and thus that he is not removable as an aggravated felon. (Karimi v. Holder, 5/13/13)
BIA Critiques and Reverses IJ’s Adverse Credibility Finding
In an unpublished decision, the Board strongly critiqued several aspects of the IJ’s adverse credibility finding, and held that the respondent established past persecution on account of his sexual orientation. Special thanks to NIJC.
CA9 Rejects Matter of Silva-Trevino
The court held that Matter of Silva-Trevino was wrongly decided, and that the IJ and the BIA improperly considered evidence beyond the record of conviction in holding that the petitioner was convicted of a CIMT. (Olivas-Motta v. Holder, 5/17/13)
CA2 Holds Petitioner Is Not Eligible for Cancellation of Removal
The court held that the petitioner’s encounters with CBP were “formal, documented” processes through which he was determined to be inadmissible, and that his “voluntary returns” to Mexico therefore severed his physical presence. (Rosario-Mijangos v. Holder, 5/16/13)
Practice Alert: Procedures for Alerting ICE of a Stay of Removal Request
AILA ICE Liaison Committee practice pointer on how to use the ICE Community and Detainee Helpline to alert ICE that there is a stay of removal request pending for a detained respondent.
ICE Arrests Former Customs Inspector for Selling Fake Documents
ICE press release announcing the arrest of a former U.S. Customs inspector who was involved in selling counterfeit immigration documents, including employment authorization cards and B-1/B-2 non-immigrant visitor visas defrauding more than 50 people out of about $100,000.
CA7 Seriously Critiques BIA Treatment of Asylum Cases Based on Forced Sterilization
The court wrote that the BIA brushed aside whether the petitioner faces a substantial risk of compulsory sterilization if she is removed to China, critiqued the BIA for its treatment of the evidence, and remanded the case. (Chen v. Holder, 5/9/13)
CA7 on False Claims to U.S. Citizenship
The court held that a baptismal certificate presented by the petitioner at the border is not sufficient evidence to constitute a representation of U.S. citizenship, noting that it did not list a country or state under “place of birth.” (Munoz-Avila v. Holder, 5/3/13)
CA9 Remands Asylum Case of Former Mexican Soldier
The court remanded the asylum case for the BIA to reconsider whether members of a Mexican drug cartel were responsible for the harm suffered by the petitioner, and to determine whether the government is able to control the cartel. (Tapia Madrigal v. Holder, 5/15/13)
Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure Amendments Implement Padilla Holding
Amendments to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court following its decision in Padilla v. Kentucky that require judges to inform non-U.S. citizen defendants that if convicted, they may be removed, denied citizenship, and denied future admission to the U.S.
AILA Notes on Liaison Q&As with SCOPS (5/15/13)
AILA notes from a teleconference with SCOPS on 5/15/13. Topics include FY2014 H-1B cap update, DACA inquiries, I-290B processing times, asylum-based inquiries through NCSC, USCIS immigrant fee, the new G-28, and EOIR AOS filings at TSC.
Practice Pointer: The Role of Consular Officers in U Visa Adjudications
The AILA VAWA, U & T Committee reminds members of FAM updates for U visa applicants and offers guidance for U visa clients wishing to travel.