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
DHS Report on Immigration Enforcement Actions in 2008
A July 2009 DHS report provides information regarding the apprehension, detention, return, and removal of foreign nationals during FY2008.
Immigration Law Advisor, June 2009 (Vol. 3, No. 6)
Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on circuit court treatment of documents commonly submitted in coercive population control asylum claims, federal court activity for May 2009, recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
TRAC Report Finds Immigration Courts Still Not Completed
Three years after EOIR’s 22 measures were announced to reform the immigration courts; a TRAC report assesses what has and has not been accomplished. This report updates a 2008 TRAC study that offered an assessment at the two-year mark.
BIA Finds IJ Lacked of Jurisdiction to Change Custody Status of Asylum Applicant
The BIA held that the IJ properly determined that he lacked jurisdiction to redetermine the conditions of the applicant’s custody and set bond, as the individual was admitted through the VWP and not entitled to a custody hearing. Matter of Werner, 25 I&N Dec. 45 (BIA 2009)
Stakeholder/USCIS Q & As (6/30/09)
The Q&As address FBI namechecks, mailing addresses, diversity visa lottery, adjustment of status for detained refugees, CSC follow up e-mail address, and more.
CA6 Finds Conviction for Violating Federal Counterfeiting Statute is an Aggravated Felony
Court dismisses petition for lack of jurisdiction. Finds that a conviction for violating 18 U.S.C. § 472 is an aggravated felony under the INA, thus the IJ and BIA properly concluded that the petitioner is removable. (Nwagbo v. Holder, 6/30/09).
Petition for Rulemaking Regarding Appointment of Counsel for Immigrants in Removal Proceedings
Petition from advocacy groups to DOJ to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to promulgate regulations governing the appointment of counsel for indigent individuals in proceedings.
CA6 Finds Evidence Supports IJ’s Ruling that Petitioner’s Marriage was Fraudulent
The court finds that the petitioner’s removability was established by clear and convincing evidence, as sufficient evidence supports the IJ’s ruling that the petitioner entered into a fraudulent marriage for the purpose of gaining lawful admission into the U.S. (King v. Holder, 6/29/09).
CA8 Remands for Review of Jurisdiction to Consider TPS Eligibility De Novo in Proceedings
Remanded to BIA for statutory interpretation regarding whether administrative remedies must be exhausted before relying on TPS eligibility in removal proceedings. (Salguero-Fuentes v. Holder, 6/25/09)
Highlights from the EOIR Open Forum at Annual Conference 2009
The AILA EOIR Liaison Committee offers highlights from the EOIR Open Forum at the 2009 AILA Annual Conference.
Orozco Litigation: BIA Remands to Allow DHS to Amend the NTA
Without addressing the continuing validity of Matter of Areguillin, the BIA has remanded Matter of Orozco to allow DHS to amend the NTA. A second case raising the issue of whether an entry based on fraud or misrepresentation can constitute an admission remains pending with the BIA.
AIC Practice Advisory: The §237(a)(1)(H) Fraud Waiver
An AIC practice advisory on the §237(a)(1)(H) fraud waiver, which provides a discretionary waiver in removal proceedings for certain misrepresentations and fraud. The practice advisory discusses when the waiver is applicable, eligibility requirements, and the relief if waiver is granted.
TRAC Reports Decrease in Asylum Denial Rate Disparities
A TRAC report reveals that judge-by-judge asylum disparities in the Immigration Courts are down. Accompanying this report are over 250 detailed reports providing the year-by-year record of individual Immigration Judges.
CA8 Finds Correct Legal Standard Applied in Hardship Determination
CA8 denies the petitioner’s challenge to the legal standards in the IJ's hardship determination for cancellation, finding that the hardship does not rise to the exceptional standard.(Gomez-Perez v. Holder, 6/22/09)
BIA Finds False Statement on Passport Application Amounts to Claim of Citizenship
The BIA held that the foreign national was inadmissible at the time of her adjustment application for having falsely represented herself to be a U.S. citizen on a passport application, having claimed birth in Texas. Matter of Barcenas, 25 I&N Dec. 40 (BIA 2009)
TRAC Reports Increase in Immigration Court Case Backlogs
A TRAC report reveals an increase in the number of backlogged cases in the immigration courts. Consequently, there has also been an increase in the length of time a foreign national must wait to have a case resolved, sometimes while in detention.
CA10 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review Denial of Motion to Reopen Application for Cancellation of Removal
The court found that it cannot review a mertis determination if the BIA considers new evidence submitted in support of a motion to reopen and determines the alien would still not be entitled to a finding of exceptional and extremely unusual hardship. (Alzainati v. Holder, 6/17/09)
ICE Publishes Information Collection on Electronic Bonds Online Access
ICE information collection on Electronic Bonds Online (eBonds) Access. Related forms are Form I-352SA, Surety eBonds Access Application and Agreement and Form I-352RA, eBonds Rules of Behavior Agreement. Comments are due 8/17/09. (74 FR 28517, 6/16/09)
BIA Finds Aged Out Beneficiary Cannot Automatically Convert from Fourth to Second Preference
The BIA held that the automatic conversion and priority date retention provisions of CSPA do not apply as the individual aged out of a fourth-preference petition and cannot retain the earlier priority date because of the difference in petitioner. Matter of Wang, 25 I&N Dec. 28 (BIA 2009)
CA8 Upholds Determination of Ineligibility for Cancellation of Removal Because of CIMT Conviction
CA8 finds petitioner’s Iowa conviction for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated would not alone be a CIMT, but his conviction for child endangerment, which requires conscious disregard of risk to the child in his care, is an aggravating factor. (Hernandez-Perez v. Holder, 6/16/09)
Neufeld Memo Provides Guidance Regarding Surviving Spouses of Deceased U.S. Citizens and Their Children
A June 15, 2009, memo from Donald Neufeld, Acting Associate Director, Office of Domestic Operations, provides guidance on surviving spouses of deceased U.S. Citizens and their children. It describes a new process allowing individuals to apply for deferred action.
Supreme Court Finds Categorical Approach Inapplicable for Determining Loss Amount for Fraud Offense
The Court addressed what evidence an IJ may consider to determine removability based on an aggravated felony conviction for an offense that involves fraud or deceit in which the loss to the victim(s) exceeds $10,000. (Nijhawan v. Holder, 6/15/09)
BIA Finds Receipt of Stolen Property Conviction An Aggravated Felony
The BIA held that the appellant’s conviction for receipt of stolen property under California statute, with a sentence of more than one year of imprisonment, qualifies categorically as an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(G). Matter of Cardiel, 25 I&N Dec. 12 (BIA 2009)
Bill Text of Orphans, Widows and Widowers Protection Act
On 6/11/09, Senators Menendez (D-NJ), Gillibrand (D-NY) and Leahy (D-VT) introduced the Orphans, Widows and Widowers Protection Act (S. 1427) which addresses the immigration-related hardships caused by the death of a sponsoring relative.
CA5 Finds Abuse of Discretion in Reliance upon Adjudication Delay to Deny Continuance
CA5 holds that the IJ abused his discretion by denying the alien’s motion for continuance based solely on the length of the delay in the adjudication of the I-130 petition of which he was the beneficiary. Remands for consideration of the Hashmi factors. (Wu v. Holder, 6/11/09)