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
CBP Issues Fraud and Misrepresentation Threshold Guidance
CBP issued a memo to provide guidance to the field on what properly constitutes a sustainable charge of fraud or misrepresentation within the statute of 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the INA.
CA2 Finds Changed Conditions in Pakistani Christian Case
The court held that the BIA abused its discretion in refusing to reopen based on worsening country conditions and that an applicant may prevail on future persecution despite an adverse credibility determination as to past persecution. (Paul v. Gonzales, 4/6/06)
Michael Creppy to be Chief Administrative Hearing Officer
Chief Immigration Judge Michael Creppy will become Chief Administrative Hearing Officer at OCAHO on 4/24/06.
CA3 Rejects IJ’s Numerous Adverse Findings as Speculative in Asylum Claim from Cote d’Ivoire
The court held that substantial evidence did not support the IJ’s finding that the harm to Petitioner was not sufficiently severe to constitute persecution, and the IJ failed to apply the BIA’s three-part inquiry on corroboration. (Toure v. Gonzales, 4/5/06)
CA9 Requires Case-Specific Decision on Whether Sexual Abuse of a Minor AgFel Constitutes a Particularly Serious Crime
The court held that INA §242(a)(2)(B) did not preclude review of whether the BIA applied the proper legal standards in evaluating whether a crime was particularly serious so as to render Petitioner ineligible for withholding. (Afridi v. Gonzales, 4/4/06)
CA2 Vacates Conviction for Illegal Re-entry After Deportation
The court held that the IJ and BIA’s erroneous information on the availability of §212(c) was “a powerful deterrent from seeking judicial relief,” which deprived Petitioner of a realistic opportunity to obtain review. (U.S. v. Lopez, 4/4/06)
CA6 Finds IJ Violated Petitioner’s Due Process Rights by Relying on Hearsay Department of State Memoranda
The court found that the IJ’s reliance on two DOS memoranda to conclude that Petitioner’s documents were fraudulent violated Petitioner’s due process rights and vacated the IJ’s finding of a frivolous asylum claim. (Alexandrov v. Gonzales, 4/4/06)
CA8 Finds IJ Erred in Failing to Determine Whether Ethiopian Asylum-Seeker Suffered Past Persecution
CA8 noted that IJ’s denial of asylum was based solely on his holding that Petitioner did not have a subjectively genuine fear of future persecution, and that the IJ did not state specific cogent reasons for disbelieving Petitioner’s past persecution testimony. (Bushira v. Gonzales, 4/4/06)
DHS/ICE Proposes to Exempt Portions of New Records System from Privacy Act Provisions
In this proposed rulemaking, DHS/ICE proposes to exempt portions of a new system of records from one or more provisions of the Privacy Act because of criminal, civil and administrative enforcement requirements. (71 FR 16519, 4/3/06)
CA9 Upholds Aggravated Felony Finding; Remands on §209(c) Waiver
CA9 held an Oregon conviction for 3d degree rape constitutes an aggravated felony. The IJ erred by applying the heightened Matter of Jean standard to the §209(c)application without determining if the conviction was for a “violent or dangerous” crime. (Rives-Gomez v. Gonzales, 4/3/06)
Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Cases Raising Issue of Whether Drug Possession is An Aggravated Felony
On 4/3/06, the Court granted cert in two cases - a civil immigration case and a criminal sentencing case - addressing whether a state felony possession conviction can constitute an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(B). (Lopez v. Gonzales; Toledo-Flores v. U.S.)
CA7 Holds BIA Did Not Abuse Its Discretion by Denying Motion to Reopen South African Asylum Case
CA7 upheld the BIA’s rulings that Petitioners failed to demonstrate due diligence in filing their motions to reopen and failed to show that conditions in South Africa had changed for persons of Indian ancestry between the time of the decision and the motion. (Patel v. Gonzales, 3/30/06)
CA8 Holds That Whether A Marriage Is Entered Into In “Good Faith” Is A Non-reviewable Discretionary Determination
CA8 concluded that because the IJ’s denial of a waiver of the joint petition requirement hinged on an adverse credibility determination, whether the marriage was entered in good faith was a discretionary determination under INA §216(c)(4) and not reviewable. (Suvorov v. Gonzales, 3/28/06)
CA5 Holds That A Timely Motion to Reopen Does Not Automatically Toll the Voluntary Departure Period (Updated 9/21/06)
The court held that the timely filing of a motion to reopen does not automatically toll the voluntary departure period. (Banda-Ortiz v. Gonzales, 3/28/06)
ICE Detention and Deportation Officer’s Field Manual
Following a FOIA request filed by AILA, ICE released a redacted version of the Detention and Deportation Officer’s Field Manual.
Section-by-Section Summary of the Chairman’s Mark, as Amended and Passed by the Judiciary Committee
AILA’s updated section-by-section summary of Chairman Specter’s Mark (the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006), as amended and passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee on 3/27/06.
Minutes of AILA USCIS Liaison Meeting March 23, 2006
USCIS discusses various liaison topics: H-1B eligibility, EB-2 and EB-3 educational equivalencies, I-90 biometrics, nunc pro tunc reinstatement for dependents, I-765 and I-131 extension, change of status (L-1B to L-1A), naturalization.
BIA Refuses Reopening on Forced Sterilization Claim
The BIA held that an alien seeking to reopen removal proceedings based on a claim that the birth of a second child in the U.S. will result in the alien’s forced sterilization in China cannot establish prima facie eligibility for relief. Matter of C-C-, 23 I&N Dec. 899 (BIA 2006)
BIA Rules on Cancellation of Removal and Continuous Physical Presence Requirement
The BIA held that the requirement that an applicant for cancellation of removal must demonstrate statutory eligibility for that relief prior to the service of a notice to appear applies only to the continuous physical presence requirement. Matter of Bautista Gomez, 23 I&N Dec. 893 (BIA 2006)
CA1 Finds Stop-Time Rule Applies Retroactively
The court found that the stop-time rule under INA §240A(d)(1)(B) applied retroactively to Petitioner’s 1995 marriage fraud conviction to end the accrual of continuous physical presence for suspension. (Peralta v. Gonzales, 3/23/06)
Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Retroactivity of Reinstatement Statute
The Court heard arguments in the first immigration case to come before the newly-constituted Roberts’ Court. The issue in the case is whether the current reinstatement provision applies to a person who reentered the United States illegally before the effective date of IIRIRA, April 1, 1997.
EOIR Responses to AILA's Liaison Questions (3/22/06)
Liaison issues addressed with EOIR included unanswered motions, the 1-800 telephone system, absentia orders, unfiled NTAs, e-payment of fees, circuit court remands, biometrics, briefing schedules, consumer protection, case completion guidelines, and motions to terminate under the Howard memo.
CA9 Upholds IJ’s Finding of No Past Persecution But Reverses Finding of No Well-Founded Fear of Future Persecution
The court upheld the finding that Petitioner had not suffered past persecution but found that her fear of future harm, based on increasingly severe threats made in Peru by Shining Path during a seven-month period six years ago, was well-founded. (Canales-Vargas v. Gonzales, 3/21/06)
CA2 Says IJ Erred in Denying Asylum for Lack of Doctrinal Knowledge
The court held that the IJ erred in finding Petitioner lacked credibility due to his limited knowledge of Christian doctrine without assessing the genuineness of his Christian beliefs. (Rizal v. Gonzales, 3/21/06)
CIS Ombudsman’s Recommendation on NTA Issuance
CIS Ombudsman’s 3/20/06 recommendation that USCIS standardize its policy on issuing Notices to Appear (NTAs) to provide that NTAs be issued and filed with the immigration court in all cases where, as a result of adjustment of status denial, the applicant is out of status.