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.
| Pre Jan 20, 2025 Status | Current Status |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Browse the Featured Issue: Representing Clients Before ICE collection
CA9 Finds IJ Denied Full and Fair Hearing in Removal Case
CA9 granted petition and remanded with instructions to order a new hearing before the IJ, finding denial of continuance in conjunction with limitations placed on testimony prevented petitioner from full and fairly presenting case. (Rendon v. Holder, 12/2/09)
TRAC Report on ICE Detention Facility Transfers
A Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) report indicates that the number of individuals held in ICE custody in FY2009 is estimated at 369,483 detainees, more than twice the FY1999 total. And that an increasing proportion of all detainees are being transferred.
DOJ OIG Issues Semiannual Report to Congress
On 12/01/09, DOJ OIG issued its Semiannual Report to Congress for the period of 4/1/09 – 9/30/09. The report includes the results of investigations of detention centers operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Immigration Law Advisor, November 2009 (Vol. 3, No. 11)
Immigration Law Advisor with an article on the current status of 212(c) and Abebe v. Holder, federal court activity and BIA precedent decisions for October 2009, and an article on deference to non-precedent decisions from the BIA and Joseph v. Holder.
BIA Finds Stepchild is Qualifying Relative for Evaluating Hardship
The BIA found that a stepchild who meets the definition of a “child” under the INA is a qualifying relative for purposes of establishing exceptional and extremely unusual hardship for cancellation of removal. Matter of Portillo-Gutierrez, 25 I&N Dec. 148 (BIA 2009)
CA3 Finds BIA Ignored Many Atrocities in Asylum Case
The court remanded finding that the BIA failed to consider many atrocities to which petitioner was subjected, testimony that she will be killed if she is returned to Liberia, and documentary evidence. (Sheriff v. Att'y Gen. of the U.S., 11/24/09)
CA6 Denies Petition for Rehearing in Persecutor Bar to Asylum Case
CA6 panel denied petition for rehearing in case on the persecutor bar to asylum with Judge Martin dissenting. AILA filed an amicus brief urging the court to rehear the case and modify the persecutor bar section to reflect new case law (Parlak v. Holder, 11/24/09).
CA4 Finds Petitioner Established Past Persecution in the Form of FGM
CA4 held that BIA’s denial of petitioner’s asylum application on the basis of an adverse credibility finding was not supported by substantial evidence, and that petitioner established past persecution in the form of female genital mutilation (Kourouma v. Holder, 11/24/09).
Person Detained by ICE Passes Away at York Hospital
On 11/21/09, Sebastian Padilla-Perez, a 72-year-old citizen and national of Cuba, who was in ICE custody on immigration violations, passed away at York Hospital in PA.
VSC Helpful Filing Tips
The Vermont Service Center (VSC) offers a number of filing tips for preparing applications and petitions to the VSC. These tips were prepared by VSC's Adjudications Branch. AILA's VSC Liaison committee will offer comments on specific sections of this document throughout the coming weeks.
CA10 Finds BIA’s Reasonable Construction of 8 U.S.C. §1231 Entitled to Deference
The court upheld the IJ’s denial of withholding of removal because of N-A-M’s conviction for felony menacing, a “particularly serious crime.” The court found BIA’s reasonable construction of §1231 entitled to the court’s deference. (N-A-M v. Holder, 11/20/09)
BIA Finds Voluntary Departure Regulations Do Not Apply Retroactively
BIA found that the voluntary departure regulations which took effect on 1/20/09, and superseded Matter of Diaz-Ruacho, do not apply retroactively. Matter of Velasco, 25 I&N Dec. 143 (BIA 2009)
ICE Memorandum on Reporting and Investigating Claims to United States Citizenship
This 11/19/09 ICE memo from John Morton, Assistant Secretary, provides guidance to ensure claims to U.S. citizenship receive immediate and careful investigation and analysis. This guidance supersedes previous guidance from 11/06/08.
ICE Announces 1,000 New Workplace Audits
On 11/19/09, ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton announced the issuance of Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to 1,000 employers associated with critical infrastructure, alerting business owners that ICE will audit their hiring records to determine compliance with employment eligibility verification laws.
AILA Liaison/TSC Meeting Minutes (11/17/09)
The meeting minutes from November 17, 2009, address the workload at TSC, processing times, EB-1 adjudications, denials without RFEs, derivative applications and children turning 14, case transfers for interviews, interfiling G-28s, 245(i) receipt notices for EOIR cases, and more.
ICE Releases 2006 Annual Detention Center Reviews
ICE released redacted annual detention center reviews completed during 2006 on the ICE FOIA Reading Room. The reviews used the G-324A, Detention Facility Review Form, and the G-324A Worksheet.
ICE Releases 2009 Detention Center Compliance Standards Reviews
ICE released redacted Detention Standard Reviews completed during 2009 on the ICE FOIA Reading Room. The scheduled reviews are used to determine general compliance with established ICE National Detention Standards for facilities used for over 72 hours.
BIA on Burden of Proof for Releasing Individual on Bond
The BIA remanded the record for the IJ to clarify whether the alien met his burden of proving his release on bond would not pose a danger to property or persons. Matter of Urena, 25 I&N 140 (BIA 2009)
Death Number 105: Pedro Juan Tavarez
Now that health care legislation has passed the House of Representatives, all eyes are on the Senate. Will the U.S. Congress send President Obama a heath care bill he can sign? Stay tuned. But while Congress considers health care reform, including whether or not to include a “public option“, t
DHS Announcement on First Year of Secure Communities Initiative and Expansion
DHS Secretary Napolitano and ICE Assistant Secretary Morton announced that ICE's Secure Communities initiative will have a presence in every state by 2011 and be available to every US law enforcement agency by 2013. DHS announced the program identified over 111,000 criminal aliens in local custody.
AIC/AILA Recommendations for Protecting the Right to Effective Assistance of Counsel
The American Immigration Council (AIC) and AILA letter to EOIR recommending steps the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals can take to protect the right to effective assistance of counsel and help ensure that noncitizens in removal proceedings are afforded a fair hearing.
BIA on Determining Good Cause for a Continuance for Adjustment
The BIA held that in determining if good cause for a continuance exists to await adjudication of an I-140 or labor certification, IJ should determine place in the process and consider Matter of Hashmi, and other relevant considerations. Matter of Rajah, 24 I&N Dec. 127 (BIA 2009)
DHS OIG Report on ICE Detainee Transfers
DHS OIG issued a report on ICE detainee transfer policies and procedures and recommends a national standard for reviewing each detainee’s administrative file prior to a transfer determination and that ICE develop protocols with EOIR court administrators for exchanging hearing and transfer schedules.
Attorneys’ Perspectives on the Rights of Detained Immigrants
This study on sampled attorneys who represent detained immigrants and public defenders who are appointed to represent detained immigrants for criminal violations. The study collected reports of violations of clients’ rights and includes results on barriers to representation and medical care.
ICE Fact Sheet on Alternatives to Detention for ICE Detainees
On 10/23/09, ICE released a fact sheet on alternatives to detention for ICE detainees. The fact sheet includes information regarding the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, or ISAP, Enhanced Supervision/Reporting (ESR), and Electronic Monitoring (EM).