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
BIA Finds “Theft Offense” Not Within the Definition of Aggravated Felony
The BIA held that the respondent’s welfare fraud offense is not a “theft offense” within the INA’s definition of an aggravated felony. Matter of Garcia-Madruga, 24 I&N Dec. 436 (BIA 2008)
CA11 Finds Persecutor Bar Applies to Guard at Forced Abortion Facility
The court held that the standard for determining whether an applicant is ineligible for asylum and withholding due to assistance or participation in persecution is whether his or her conduct was active, direct and integral to the underlying persecution. (Chen v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 1/17/08)
CA11 Upholds Regulation Governing Jurisdiction Over Adjustment for Arriving Aliens
The court held that 8 CFR §1245.2(a)(1), which gives USCIS jurisdiction over most adjustment of status applications by arriving aliens in removal proceedings, is a valid interpretation of INA §245(a). (Scheerer v. Chertoff, 1/15/08)
CA9 Amends Kalouma Decision re: Proof of Identity in Asylum Claims
In response to a petition for rehearing by the government, the court amended its 08/28/07 decision (AILA Doc. No. 07101260) with a few additional paragraphs of analysis. The court rejected the government’s reliance on Farah v. Ashcroft. (Kalouma v. Gonzales, 1/15/08)
ICE Releases Family Residential Detention Standards
ICE posted family residential detention standards on its website. AILA Doc. No. 08011464.
CA9 Holds CA Hit and Run Statute is Not Categorically a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude
The court held that a violation of Cal. Vehicle Code §20001(a), leaving the scene of an accident resulting in bodily injury or death, is not categorically a crime involving moral turpitude. (Cerezo v. Mukasey, 1/14/08)
CA7 Finds IJ “Cared Little about the Evidence” in Nigerian CAT Claim
The court found that the flaws in the IJ’s reasoning made it question the fairness of the hearing, and that the IJ failed to consider rebuttal evidence regarding whether Petitioner’s crimes were aggravated felonies. (Bosede v. Mukasey, 1/14/08)
CA11 Finds “Courage Does Not Negate Fear” in Colombian Asylum Claim
The court vacated the IJ’s finding that Petitioner, a Colombian lawyer, failed to show a well-founded fear. The court found that she had shown past persecution and was entitled to a rebuttable presumption. (Santamaria v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 1/11/08)
IJ’s Decision Must Contain Explicit Order of Removal When Withholding Granted Without Asylum
The BIA held that when an IJ issues a decision granting an alien’s application for withholding of removal, without a grant of asylum, the decision must include an explicit order of removal. Matter of I-S- & C-S-, 24 I&N Dec. 432 (BIA 2008)
ICE Memo: Involuntary Sedation of Immigration Detainees
This January 9, 2008, ICE memo requires a federal district court order before the Division of Immigration Health Services can administer involuntary sedation to individuals subject to deportation.
CA1 Holds Attempted Conscription by FARC Is Not a Basis for Asylum
The court held that coercive conscription by the FARC did not trigger an entitlement to asylum, where conscription might be motivated by the desire to fill their ranks and the target might resist for non-political motives. (Tobon-Marin v. Mukasey, 1/8/08)
CA7 Denied Claim Based on Identity Theft and Failure to Prove Homosexuality
The court held that Petitioner’s convictions for identity theft were properly characterized as aggravated felonies. It also rejected his withholding claim based on homosexuality, due to incredible testimony and lack of corroborating evidence. (Eke v. Mukasey, 1/7/08)
CA9 Holds Credited Pre-Conviction Time Served Counts Toward §101(f)(7) Good Moral Character Bar
The court held that when pre-trial detention is credited against the sentence imposed upon conviction, the period of pre-trial detention must be considered as confinement as a result of a conviction within the meaning of INA §101(f)(7). (Arreguin-Moreno v. Mukasey, 1/14/08)
CA3 Remands Cases Involving Claimed Nonreceipt of BIA Decisions
The court found jurisdiction to review the denial of Petitioners’ motions to reissue and remanded the cases to the BIA to determine what weight to accord to Petitioners’ affidavits of nonreceipt. (Jahjaga v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 1/4/08)
AAO Sustains I-212 Waiver Appeal
In a non-precendent decision, AAO finds applicant was not issued a notice of reinstatement of the removal order. Sustains I-212 waiver appeal, finding the favorable factors outweigh the negative ones in the case.
ICE’s Operations Manual ICE Performance-Based National Detention Standards (2008)
A 2008 version of ICE’s Performance Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS 2008).
Immigration Law Today-Jan/Feb 2008
The Jan/Feb 2008 issue of Immigration Law Today focuses on global immigration, including traveling to Canada with a DUI, the new intercountry adoption standards, and the creation of U.N.'s expulsion treaty.
Immigration Law Advisor, December 2007 (Vol. 1, No. 12)
Immigration Law Advisor, an EOIR legal publication, with an article on gang violence and asylum, federal court activity for November 2007, update on recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
ICE Revises Parole Determination Worksheet
ICE recently revised its parole determination worksheet.
CA6 Upholds IJ’s Frivolousness Finding in Albanian Asylum Claim
The court found that Petitioner received adequate warning about the consequences of filing of frivolous asylum applications and had sufficient opportunity to account for discrepancies in his various applications. (Ceraj v. Mukasey, 12/28/07)
CA9 Holds Resisting Arrest Under Arizona Law is a Crime of Violence
The court held that resisting arrest, in violation of Arizona Revised Statutes §13-2508, categorically constitutes a crime of violence and is therefore an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(F). (Estrada-Rodriguez v. Mukasey, 12/28/07)
CA9 Rejects Withholding and CAT Claim of Salvadoran Gang Member
The court rejected Petitioner’s argument that his indelible gang tattoos and former membership in a gang would qualify as a particular social group. (Arteaga v. Mukasey, 12/27/07)
CA2 on “Formal Judgment of Guilt” Under INA §101(a)(48)(A)
The court held that the entry of a “formal judgment of guilt … by a court” occurs when judgment is entered on the docket, not when a defendant pleads guilty. (Puello v. BCIS, 12/20/07)
BIA finds Certain Exceptions do not Apply Where Enhancement Factors Increased the Maximum Penalty of Offense
The BIA held that the exception under section 212(h) for an alien convicted of a single offense of drug possession does not apply where enhancement factors increased maximum penalty and had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury. Matter of Martinez-Zapata, 24 I&N Dec. 424 (BIA 2007)
CA2 Overturns Adverse Credibility Finding Due to Speculation Over Documents
The court held that the IJ’s speculation regarding Petitioner’s identity document from Mauritania and refugee document from Senegal could not support an adverse credibility finding. (Niang v. Mukasey, 12/19/07)