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
District Court Stops ICE Transfer of Detainees
A District Court judge temporarily ordered ICE to cease transferring detainees without prior notice to the court, to place no restrictions on access to counsel, and to work with Social Services to resolve issues involving children of the detainees. (Sandoval v. ICE, 3/9/07)
Letter Urging Support for the Restoration of Habeas Corpus Rights for Non-Citizen Detainees
Sign-on letter from over 70 NGOs to Senators Harry Reid (D-NV) and Mitch McConnel (R-KY), and Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and John Boehner (R-OH), urging their support for legislation to restore the right of habeas corpus to non-citizens detained by the United States.
CA3 Extends St. Cyr to All Individuals Convicted of a Pre-IIRAIRA Aggravated Felony
The court held that the repeal of §212(c) cannot be applied retroactively to preclude persons convicted of a pre-IIRAIRA aggravated felony, whether by plea or by trial, because the repeal attached new consequences to the conviction and sentence. (Atkinson v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 3/8/07)
BIA on Termination of Proceedings for Adjudication of Naturalization Application
The BIA held that because BIA and IJs lack jurisdiction to adjudicate naturalization applications, removal proceedings may only be terminated where DHS presents an affirmative communication on prima facie eligibility for naturalization. Matter of Acosta Hidalgo, 24 I&N Dec. 103 (BIA 2007)
CA6 Upholds Neg. Credibility Finding; Rejects Use of Minor Inconsistencies
The court concluded that there was sufficient inconsistency in the record to support the IJ’s adverse credibility determination in this Tunisian asylum case, but noted that many alleged inconsistencies were irrelevant or not inconsistent. (Ben Hamida v. Gonzales, 3/7/07)
CA5 Finds No Jurisdiction to Review Visa Revocation Under INA §205
The court held that the decision of the Secretary of Homeland Security to revoke a visa under INA §205 is purely discretionary and may not be reviewed by the court of appeals in accordance with INA §242(a)(2)(B)(ii). (Ghanem v. Upchurch, 3/6/07)
CA10 Refuses to Suppress Evidence of Unlawful Immigration Status
The court held that a federal agent’s failure to provide a lawfully detained suspect a Miranda warning prior to inquiring about his immigration status does not require suppression of that status where fingerprint evidence subsequently confirms such status. (U.S. v. Lara-Garcia, 3/6/07)
DHS OIG Assessment of ICE’s Fugitive Operations Teams
This March 2007 report addresses the effectiveness of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Fugitive Operations Teams.
CA9 Finds Ukrainian Whistleblower Was Persecuted for his Political Opinion
The court held that the BIA erred in finding that Petitioner’s whistleblowing was not political opinion. The court found his whistleblowing was political because it was directed “toward a government institution.” (Fedunyak v. Gonzales, 3/2/07)
CA9 Holds California Stalking Conviction is Not a “Crime of Violence”
On petition for rehearing, the court held that Petitioner’s conviction for stalking under California Penal Code §646.9 does not qualify as a crime of violence under 18 USC §16(b), and is therefore, not an aggravated felony. (Malta-Espinoza v. Gonzales, 3/2/07)
Immigration Law Today-Mar/Apr 2007
The Mar/Apr 2007 issue of Immigration Law Today focuses on asylum, including one man's journey behind Guantanamo, asylees from gang warfare, and children fleeing persecution.
CA7 Finds BIA’s Summary Dismissal Proper Where No Brief Was Filed
The court found that there was no error or abuse of discretion in BIA’s summary dismissal in the case of an applicant who indicated on her NOA that a brief would be filed and then failed to file a brief.(Kokar v. Gonzales, 3/1/07)
CA8 Finds Iraqi Filed Frivolous Asylum Claim; Denies Asylum, W/H, and VAWA
The court found that the IJ’s determination that Petitioner filed a frivolous asylum application was supported by substantial evidence. The court also found that substantial evidence supported the IJ’s negative credibility finding. (Aziz v. Gonzales, 3/1/07)
CA8 Upholds Finding that Indonesian Christians Lack Well-Founded Fear
The court held that the past incidents suffered by Petitioners did not amount to persecution because they were limited to minor damage to their car and home, a robbery, and fleeing from a church unharmed. (Lengkong v. Gonzales, 3/1/07)
Immigration Law Advisor, February 2007 (Vol. 1, No. 2)
Immigration Law Advisor with an article on misdemeanor assault, battery, and harassment as crimes of violence, an article on the high dismissal rate of petitions for review, federal court activity and recent BIA decisions for January 2007, and a regulatory update.
BIA Holds TPS Can Be Asserted in Removal Proceedings
The BIA held that Temporary Protected Status can be asserted in removal proceedings, even if AAU previously denied application. Matter of Barrientos, 24 I&N Dec. 100 (BIA 2007)
Published Notice on FOIA Processing Track for Those Appearing Before an IJ
Effective 3/30/07, a third FOIA request processing track will be established for individuals appearing before an immigration judge. (72 FR 9017, 2/28/07)
USCIS Press Release on New NTA FOIA Request Track
A 2/28/07 USCIS Press Release announced the launch of a new FOIA request track for individuals who are scheduled to appear before an IJ. Cases in which an IJ has issued a final order or those in which an appeal has been filed with the BIA will not be included in the new NTA FOIA request track.
USCIS Issues FOIA Fact Sheet
A 2/28/07 USCIS FOIA Fact Sheet, describes the three FOIA request processing tracks. Guidelines are provided on the information and documentation required to place a request in the new Notice to Appear track, effective 3/30/07.
DHS Testimony on Immigration Reform before the Senate Judiciary Committee
On 2/28/07, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding comprehensive immigration reform.
CA7 Refuses to Allow Late Filed Motion to Reopen for §212(c) Relief
Petitioner’s special motion to reopen for consideration of his application for §212(c) relief was filed after the 4/26/05 deadline imposed by 8 CFR §1003.44(h), and thus the petition for review was denied.(Johnson v. Gonzales, 2/28/07)
CA2 Finds Sexual Assault Was Motivated by Protected Ground
The court found that the beatings and sexual assault were motivated in part by an imputed political opinion and Petitioner’s Tamil ethnicity and that the assault cannot be viewed as simply a criminal act. (Rizvie v. Gonzales, 2/28/07)
CA6 Finds No Abuse of Discretion in BIA Denial of Motions to Reopen and Reconsider
CA6 held that absent evidence of an I-130, Petitioner failed to establish prima facie eligibility for adjustment of status. Because new evidence was introduced, the motion will be treated as a second motion to reopen which is barred by statute and regulation. (Alizoti v. Gonzales, 2/26/07)
CA3 Remands for Analysis of “Particularly Serious Crime” Bar to CAT Relief
The court remanded to the BIA, finding that the IJ failed to discuss why Petitioner’s conviction did not meet the requirements for an exception to the particularly serious crime presumption. (Lavira v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 2/26/07)
CA6 Dismisses Appeal Under Fugitive Disentitlement Doctrine
After filing the petition for review, Petitioner failed to report for removal despite a lawful order requiring him to do so. The court dismissed Petitioner’s appeal of the BIA’s denial of his motion to reopen under the fugitive disentitlement doctrine. (Garcia-Flores v. Gonzales, 2/23/07)