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 Holds That Denial of Continuance for Counsel to Prepare to Adequately Represent Petitioner Violated His Right to Counsel
The court held that the BIA and IJ violated the petitioner’s due process right to a fundamentally fair hearing and his statutory right to counsel by denying his counsel’s request for a 30-day continuance so that she could prepare to adequately represent him. (Freza v. Att’y Gen., 9/15/22)
EOIR Final Rule on Limited Representation of Pro Se Individuals
EOIR final rule on limited representation of pro se individuals, which permits practitioners to provide document assistance to pro se individuals by entering a limited appearance through new Forms EOIR-60 or EOIR-61. The rule is effective 11/14/22. (87 FR 56247, 9/14/22)
CA3 Concludes That INA §212(h) Waivers Cannot Be Used for Cancellation of Removal Purposes
Denying the petition for review, the court found that the petitioner could not use the INA §212(h) waiver to excuse his 2015 drug conviction, which rendered him ineligible for relief under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA). (Lopez v. Att’y Gen., 9/9/22)
CA5 Upholds BIA’s Conclusion That Petitioner Failed to Show His Stepchildren Were “Qualifying Relatives” Under INA §240A(b)(1)(D)
The court rejected the petitioner’s argument that the BIA erred in concluding that he had failed to offer sufficient evidence that his stepchildren were U.S. citizens and thus “qualifying relatives” for purposes of his cancellation of removal application. (Agustin-Matias v. Garland, 9/9/22)
CA6 Defers to BIA’s Ultimate Factual Finding That Salvadoran Government Was Able to Protect Petitioners from MS-13 Gang
The court held that the BIA did not err in interpreting and applying the asylum and withholding of removal statutes to conclude that petitioners had not shown that the Salvadoran government was unable or unwilling to control the MS-13 gang. (Rodriguez de Palucho, et al. v. Garland, 9/9/22)
EOIR to Relocate Arlington Immigration Court
EOIR announced that the Arlington Immigration Court will end normal operations at noon on October 6, 2022, to prepare for the court’s relocation to Annandale, VA. All hearings scheduled at the Arlington Immigration Court after October 5 will be rescheduled to the Annandale Immigration Court.
New Public Charge Regulation Welcome, and More Welcoming
AILA President Jeremy McKinney and American Immigration Council Managing Director of Programs Jorge Loweree respond to the new public charge regulations published today by the Biden Administration.
Dealing with Trauma to Discover Your Client's Story
Asylum seekers have much trauma that prevents them from telling their account of persecution. Here, we will provide tips on how to help your client discover their story and help the attorney tell their client’s story.
Speaker: Sarah Pitney
District Court Approves Settlement in Case Challenging ICE’s Unlawful Detention of Unaccompanied Minors
The district court approved a settlement agreement whereby the government agreed to dismiss its appeal, and the district court’s 9/21/21 judgment and five-year permanent injunction against ICE became final. (Garcia Ramirez, et al. v. ICE, et al., 9/7/22)
EOIR to Open Sterling Immigration Court
EOIR announced it will open a new immigration court in Sterling, VA on October 3, 2022, and will include 19 immigration judges. EOIR is in the process of sending official notification of a change of hearing location to all parties whose cases are reassigned to the new court.
Practice Alert: ICE Provides OPLA Field Office Contact Email Addresses
Following member reports that ICE Duty Attorney email addresses were no longer being used in certain jurisdictions, AILA requested updated contact information from ICE and clarification on the use of duty attorney email addresses.
DHS/ICE/OPLA Chief Counsel Contact Information
ICE provides AILA with contact information for OPLA Chief Counsels in order to seek further review of a prosecutorial discretion (PD) determination or to identify systemic issues relating to PD in the Chief Counsel’s location.
CA1 Finds BIA Did Not Err in Vacating IJ’s Grant of Cancellation to Guatemalan Petitioner
The court upheld the BIA’s vacatur of the IJ’s grant of cancellation of removal as to the petitioner, who argued that his U.S.-citizen children would suffer exceptional and extremely unusual hardship if he were removed to Guatemala. (Domingo-Mendez v. Garland, 8/31/22)
CA9 Finds BIA Erred in Concluding There Were Serious Reasons to Believe Petitioner Committed Serious Nonpolitical Crime
The court held that substantial evidence did not support the BIA’s determination that the Salvadoran petitioner was ineligible for withholding of removal based on the serious nonpolitical crime bar pursuant to INA §241(b)(3)(B)(iii). (Gonzalez-Castillo v. Garland, 8/31/22)
CA9 Finds BIA Erred in Holding That Earlier Adverse Credibility Finding Barred Petitioner’s Motion to Reopen
The court held that the BIA erred in concluding that the IJ’s prior adverse credibility finding barred the petitioner’s motion to reopen and rendered his new evidence regarding changed country conditions for Sikhs in India immaterial. (Singh v. Garland, 8/30/22)
Key Takeaways: ICE Open Forum at AILA’s 2022 Annual Conference
AILA’s ICE Liaison Committee provides key takeaways from the ICE Open Forum held during the 2022 Annual Conference on June 17, 2022.
USCIS Final Rule on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
USCIS final rule codifying the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The final rule implements the 9/28/21 proposed rule with some amendments. The rule is effective 10/31/22. (87 FR 53152, 8/30/22)
CA7 Finds Facially Deficient Form I-871 Did Not Violate Petitioner’s Due Process Rights Where She Failed to Show Prejudice
The court held that while there were facial deficiencies on the Form I-871 sent to the petitioner, she could not prevail on her argument that she had not been provided a fair hearing under the Fifth Amendment, because she had not provided any evidence of prejudice. (Casas v. Garland, 8/29/22)
CA9 Finds Petitioners’ Arizona Drug-Related Convictions Were Related to a Controlled Substance Under Federal Law
The court concluded that the two Arizona criminal statutes involved in the case are both divisible, and that the two petitioners had been convicted of controlled substance offenses under federal law that properly supported their orders of removal. (Romero-Millan v. Garland, 8/29/22)
CA1 Says BIA Erred by Excluding Petitioner’s New Evidence Challenging Foundational Premise of IJ’s Adverse Credibility Finding
The court held that, in denying the petitioner's motion to remand, the BIA erred by excluding petitioner’s new evidence—namely, a psychologist’s report that explained how her post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affected her ability to recount her abuse. (Rivera-Medrano v. Garland, 8/26/22)
Practice Pointer: Updated ICE Policy on Interests of Noncitizen Parents and Legal Guardians of Minor Children or Incapacitated Adults
AILA summarizes information provided at ICE’s engagement on its updated policy directive on the interests of noncitizen parents and legal guardians of minor children or incapacitated adults and provides practice tips. Special thanks to committee member Michael Sharma-Crawford for his contribution.
Client Communication in Long Removal Cases
How to stay in touch with your client when their removal case may go on for 3, 4, or 5 years!
Speaker: Christine M. Hernandez
Practice Alert: Long-Pending Joint or Unopposed Motions at the BIA
Following AILA reports of long-pending joint and unopposed motions at the BIA, EOIR confirmed that a technical glitch had caused issues identifying these cases and suggested filing a Motion to Expedite. Special thanks to the AILA EOIR Liaison Committee.
EOIR Makes Board and Immigration Court Practice Manuals Available via PDF
In response to comments from the public, EOIR made the Board and Immigration Court Practice Manuals available as downloadable PDF documents. EOIR’s Practice Manuals are “living” documents and will be revised on an ongoing basis. Public comments are also accepted at any time.
DOJ Issues Memo on the Asylum Procedures Rule
DOJ issued guidance to adjudicators on the interim final rule entitled “Procedures for Credible Fear Screening and Consideration of Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and CAT Protection Claims by Asylum Officers.” Guidance is effective 8/26/22.