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
Transcript of President Obama's Speech on Comprehensive Immigration Reform 2013
White House transcript of 1/29/13 speech by President Obama at Del Sol High School in Las Vegas, Nevada where he laid out his 2013 immigration plan that will strengthen our borders and streamline the immigration system for families, workers, and employers.
White House Fact Sheet on Comprehensive Immigration Reform 2013
White House fact sheet on 2013 immigration plan that will strengthen our borders, crack down on companies that hire undocumented workers, hold undocumented people accountable before earning citizenship and streamline immigration system for families, workers, and employers.
CA9 Holds California Conviction for False Imprisonment is an Aggravated Felony
The court held that a conviction under California Penal Code §210.5 for false imprisonment is a categorical crime of violence because it involves a substantial risk that force may be used. (Barragan-Lopez v. Holder, 1/29/13)
CA9 Issues Third Opinion in Case on Unlawful Presence and the Permanent Bar (Updated 1/31/13)
The court removed language permitting the accrual of pre-IIRIRA unlawful presence, denied relief under 212(a)(9)(C)(i)(II), and held that the application of Torres-Garcia to Petitioner was not impermissibly retroactive. (Carrillo de Palacios v. Holder, 1/28/13)
Immigration Court and EOIR Office Closings for January 28, 2013
EOIR public statement announcing that the Ulster, New York and Hartford, Connecticut immigration courts will be closed at 1pm and 3pm respectively on Monday, January 28, 2013 due to inclement weather.
CRCL Newsletter, January 2013
DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) January 2013 newsletter with information on new USCIS resources, sexual assault in confinement facilities, human trafficking issues, and more.
2013 AILA Annual Plan and Budget
The AILA Board of Governors approved AILA’s 2013 Annual Plan and Budget at its meeting on January 26, 2013.
AILA Practice Alert: Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers (Updated 1/25/13)
AILA practice alert providing answers to key questions surrounding the USCIS final rule, “Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers of Inadmissibility for Certain Immediate Relatives,” which takes effect on March 4, 2013.
CA7 on the Meaning of Lawful Status Under §245(k)
The court held that “lawful status” for adjustment eligibility purposes under §245(k) does not extend to a person who has a prior adjustment application still pending, even if that person’s nonimmigrant status has expired. (Chaudhry v. Holder, 1/17/13)
CA7 Denies Asylum Request of Falun Gong Practitioner
The court held that the petitioner had not suffered past persecution when he learned that his wife in China had been forcibly sterilized, and also that he lacked a well-founded fear of future persecution based on his Falun Gong activities. (Chen v. Holder, 1/18/13)
DHS PIA Report on Alien Criminal Response Information Management System
DHS Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) report from 1/24/13 on the Alien Criminal Response Information Management System (ACRIMe) which receives and responds to immigration status inquiries made by other agencies about individuals arrested, subject to background checks, and more.
DHS PIA Report on Bonds Online (eBONDS) System
DHS Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) report from 1/24/13 on the Bonds Online System (eBONDS), which is a web-based application used primarily by surety agents and the Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) to facilitate the ICE immigration bond management process.
Iowa Reverses Decision and Will Begin Granting Drivers Licenses to DACA Recipients
The Iowa Department of Transportation released a press release announcing that the state had determined it can now issue driver's licenses or non-operator identification (ID) cards to persons granted DACA based on changed guidance issued by the USCIS.
FCC Notice on Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services
FCC notice of proposed rulemaking on the inmate calling services industry and how to ensure just and reasonable rates for inmate calling services. Comments are due 3/25/13. (78 FR 4369, 01/22/13)
CA9 on Resisting Arrest as a Particularly Serious Crime
The court remanded the case, holding that the BIA did not adequately explain its conclusion that the petitioner’s California conviction for resisting arrest constituted a particularly serious crime. (Alphonsus v. Holder, 1/18/13)
AILA New Members Division E-News, January 2013 (Vol. 5, Issue 1)
This issue offers advice on how to navigate the intersection of immigration and criminal law, litigation tips for handling stateside waivers and petitions for an immediate relative, the complications on renouncing U.S. citizenship within U.S. borders, and more!
Letter from North Carolina Attorney General on Drivers Licenses for DACA Grantees
Letter from the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office to the North Carolina DMV stating that individuals who have been granted deferred action pursuant to the DACA program must be issued a North Carolina drivers license in accordance with state law.
CA7 Finds Jurisdiction to Review Deferral of Removal Request
The court held that INA §242(a)(2)(C) does not bar judicial review of a deferral of removal request, found that the evidence supported that the petitioner will probably be murdered if he returns to Kenya, and remanded the case. (Wanjiru v. Holder, 1/11/13)
CA1 Remands Pakistani Petitioner’s Asylum Case
The court found that the BIA and IJ did not properly consider evidence supporting the petitioner’s claim that he could face future persecution in Pakistan by the Taliban because he is an ANP activist and a special police officer. (Khattak v. Holder, 1/17/13)
CRS Report on Prosecutorial Discretion in Immigration Enforcement
Congressional Research Service (CRS) report from 1/17/13 called "Prosecutorial Discretion in Immigration Enforcement: Legal Issues" which addresses the constitutional and other legal foundations and issues related to the doctrine of prosecutorial discretion.
AILA/ICE Workplace Enforcement Meeting Summary (1/17/13)
Q&As from the 1/17/13 AILA Verification & HSI Worksite Enforcement Division meeting. Topics include DACA guidance for employers, FY2012 inspections, substantive/technical errors, NOIs, and electronic I-9s. Thanks to Kathleen Walker, Marketa Lindt & Sharon Mehlman. AILA Doc. No. 13021943.
CA5 Holds Texas Conviction Is Not Categorically an Aggravated Felony
The court held that a conviction under Texas Penal Code § 22.011(a)(1) for sexual assault is not categorically an aggravated felony because portions of the statute do not inherently involve a substantial risk of physical force. (Rodriguez v. Holder, 1/16/13)
CA6 Finds Withholding of Removal Not Available Derivatively
The court held the petitioner was not eligible for asylum or withholding of removal because he sought relief as a derivative of his wife, whose asylum application was denied, and that withholding of removal is not available derivatively. (Camara v. Holder, 1/15/13)
CA2 Finds District Court Did Not Have Jurisdiction to Review 212(i) Waiver Denial
The court held that it did not have jurisdiction to review the petitioner’s 212(i) waiver denial, noting that even if the complaint had raised constitutional claims, the district court did not have jurisdiction to review those claims. (Shabaj v. Holder, 1/15/13)
AIC and AILA File Amicus Brief on Mental Competency in Removal Proceedings
AIC and AILA amicus brief, filed with several other organizations, describing the safeguards that DHS and DOJ should adopt to protect the rights of individuals who are not mentally competent when DHS institutes removal proceedings.