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
CA2 Refuses to Exercise Power to Remand Forced Sterilization Claim
The court declined to remand Petitioner’s case using its inherent power, based on new documents from another case regarding forced sterilization of unmarried women. (Ni v. Gonzales, 7/12/07)
CA4 Rejects Asylum for Egyptian Married to Jewish Woman
CA4 found no evidence that the Egyptian government would persecute Petitioner because of his marriage to a woman of Jewish descent, and that DHS’ breach of confidentiality was not a ground for asylum. (Abdel-Rahman v. Gonzales, 7/12/07)
CA1 Overturns IJ’s Adverse Credibility Finding in Cambodian Asylum Case
The court reversed the IJ’s adverse credibility finding, where the IJ’s description of Petitioner’s testimony was inaccurate and Petitioner corrected a discrepancy almost immediately, before it was brought to her attention. (Heng v. Gonzales, 7/12/07)
CA10 Finds Petitioner Removable for False Claim to U.S. Citizenship on Form I-9
CA10 held that a person who misrepresents citizenship to obtain private employment does so for the “purpose” of evading INA §274A(a)(1)(A)’s prohibition on knowingly employing unauthorized workers, thus rendering him inadmissible under INA §212(a)(6)(C)(ii)(I). (Kechkar v. Gonzales, 7/11/07)
CA3 Holds NY Second-Degree Possession of a Weapon Is a Crime of Violence
The court held that a conviction for second-degree possession of a weapon in violation of New York Penal Law §265.03 is a crime of violence under 18 USC §16(b) and is therefore an aggravated felony. (Henry v. BICE, 7/11/07)
BIA Finds Parent’s LPR Status Cannot be Imputed to Child in 240A Cancellation Cases
The BIA held that a parent’s lawful permanent resident status cannot be imputed to a child for purposes of calculating the five years of LPR required to establish eligibility for cancellation of removal. Matter of Escobar, 24 I&N Dec. 231 (BIA 2007)
CA4 Upholds IJ’s Denial of Continuance Notwithstanding Pending Labor Certification
CA4 upheld the IJ'a refusal to grant a continuance where Petitioner’s wife was the beneficiary of a pending labor certification, because at the time he requested the continuance, Petitioner was not statutorily eligible for adjustment of status. (Lendo v. Gonzales, 7/10/07)
CA2 Remands to Consider Whether Extraordinary Circumstances Justify Delay in Appeal
The court held that the Supreme Court’s decision in Bowles v. Russell does not require it to overrule Sun v. DOJ which held that extraordinary or unique circumstances may justify the untimely filing of a BIA appeal. (Khan v. Gonzales, 7/10/07)
CA7 Finds IJ Denied Right to Present Evidence by Excluding Expert Opinion
The court held that the IJ’s refusal to consider the expert’s testimony was a violation of Petitioner’s right to present evidence, findin the expert could have given his opinion regarding a political issue, and was not testifying as a document expert. (Tadesse v. Gonzales, 7/9/07)
CA9 Upholds Matter of Blake, Denies §212(c) Relief Based on Comparable Grounds Rule
CA9 upheld the BIA’s decision in Matter of Blake, finding Petitioner ineligible under former INA §212(c) because the aggravated felony ground of deportability for sexual abuse of a minor has no comparable ground of inadmissibility in INA §212(a). (Abebe v. Gonzales, 7/9/07)
CA11 Finds Attack by FARC Was Motivated by Petitioner’s Political Opinion
CA11 upheld the conclusion that the attack on Petitioner was politically motivated and was not a random criminal act. It later granted the government’s petition for rehearing and amended its decision to find no jurisdiction over one claim. (Lopez v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 7/6/07)
GAO Report on Alien Detention Standards
A GAO report on ICE's implementation of its detention standards for aliens in custody including the finding that telephone access problems were pervasive at detention facilities though other deficiencies did not show a pattern of noncompliance.
CA8 Finds Albania Applicant Suffered Past Persecution and Remands to BIA
The court held that Petitioner suffered past persecution in Albania based on his political opinion, finding that the IJ did not consider the question of whether the government met its burden of rebutting the presumption of a well-founded fear. (Sholla v. Gonzales, 7/5/07).
Sample Op-Ed for Immigration Raids
This sample op-ed can be submitted as is or it can be adapted to a particular regional experience. Use this article to make the case that immigration raids only point to the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform – raids have not and will not solve the immigration crisis in the U.S.
BIA Holds Alien Returning to U.S. After Failed Canadian Refugee Application is "Arriving Alien"
The BIA held that an alien who leaves the U.S. and is admitted to Canada to seek refugee status has made a departure and thus is an arriving alien when returning after the denial of an application for refugee status in Canada. Matter of R-D-, 24 I&N Dec. 221 (BIA 2007)
Immigration Law Advisor, June 2007 (Vol. 1, No. 6)
Immigration Law Advisor with articles on the unsettled concept of firm resettlement as a bar to asylum and how EOIR motions are being governed by federal courts, court activity for May 2007, update on recent BIA precedent decisions, a legislative commentary on S. 1639, and a regulatory update.
Human Rights Watch Assesses the Impact of Deportation Policy
A July 2007 Human Rights Watch report entitled "Forced Apart: Families Separated and Immigrants Harmed by U.S. Deportation Policy" addresses the ways in which AEDPA and IIRAIRA have impacted immigrants and their families.
CA5 Holds Texas Hit and Run Constitutes a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude
The court held that Petitioner’s conviction for failure to stop and render aid following a fatal car accident in which he was involved under Texas Transportation Code §550.021 constitutes a crime involving moral turpitude. (Garcia-Maldonado v. Gonzales, 6/29/07)
CA5 Finds Jurisdiction to Issue Stays of Voluntary Departure
The court held that once the Attorney General has granted voluntary departure, the court has jurisdiction to stay the voluntary departure period to preserve the status quo pending its review of the underlying order of removal. (Sierra Vidal v. Gonzales, 6/27/07)
CA2 on Solicitation Where a Drug Crime Is the Intended Objective
The court held that Petitioner was inadmissible for a controlled substance violation as a result of his solicitation conviction under NY Penal Law §100.05(1), because the solicitation had a drug crime as its intended objective. (Mizrahi v. Gonzales, 6/27/07)
BIA Finds INA §237(a)(2)(E) Does Not Apply to Pre-enactment Convictions
The BIA held that an alien whose conviction precedes the effective date of INA section 237(a)(2)(E) is not “convicted of an offense under” that section and therefore is not barred from establishing eligibility for cancellation of removal. Matter of Gonzalez-Silva, 24 I&N Dec. 218 (BIA 2007)
CA2 Remands for Determination of Whether Defected KGB Agents Constitute PSG
The court noted that it was not its task to determine in the first instance whether “defected KGB agents” constitute a particular social group and remanded to the BIA. (Koudriachova v. Gonzales, 6/26/07)
CA3 Holds Stop-Time Rule Does Not Permit New Period of Continuous Presence to Begin Following Crime
For purposes of the stop-time rule, the court rejected the argument that the commission of a crime only ends one period of continuous presence and that a new one begins after the crime is committed. (Briseno-Flores v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 6/26/07)
Summary of Graham-Kyl-Martinez “Omnibus” Amendment
Summary of the Graham-Kyl-Martinez Amendment to S. 1639, which would impose mandatory detention and a permanent bar on relief for visa overstays, and would require a “touchback” prior to Z visa status, among other provisions.
CA9 Finds Jurisdiction Over Habeas Appeal Filed After REAL ID’s Enactment
The court held that a habeas petition is “pending” in district court within the meaning of §106(c) of the REAL ID Act, when the notice of appeal was not filed at the time the Act was enacted, but was filed within the 60-day period. (Singh v. Gonzales, 6/25/07)