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.
| Pre Jan 20, 2025 Status | Current Status |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Browse the Featured Issue: Representing Clients Before ICE collection
DHS Provides Samples of "Operation Horizon" NTAs
DHS provided information on “Operation Horizon,” which is designed to place 78,000 individuals into removal proceedings, who originally only received Notices to Report (NTRs). NTAs are being mailed to addresses provided by immigrants at the time of entry.
BIA Invites Amicus on Whether Aggravated Felonies are Particularly Serious Crimes
The BIA invited amicus briefs on whether all aggravated felonies under INA §101(a)(43), per se come within the ambit of a particularly serious crime, such that it is unnecessary to examine the elements of the relevant aggravated felony offense. Briefs are due by 11/30/21.
CA9 Says There Is No Colorable Constitutional Claim Exception to Statutory Limits on Judicial Review of Expedited Removal Orders
The court found it lacked jurisdiction to review petitioner’s challenge to his expedited removal proceedings, concluding that a recent Supreme Court decision abrogated any colorable constitutional claim exception to INA §242(a)(2)(A). (Guerrier v. Garland, 8/16/21, amended 11/9/21)
CA5 Holds That BIA Erred by Treating Petitioner’s Adverse Credibility Determination as Dispositive of His CAT Claim
The court found that the BIA erred by refusing to consider the Sri Lankan petitioner’s country-conditions evidence in its likelihood-of-torture assessment with regard to his Convention Against Torture (CAT) claim, as required by 8 CFR §1208.16(c)(3). (Arulnanthy v. Garland, 11/8/21)
EOIR Provides Updated Guidance on its Response to COVID-19
EOIR released guidance stating that its website will be the primary method of communication with the public regarding updates to EOIR’s protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic and will no longer issue these formal documents. Guidance is effective 11/8/21.
ICE Releases Health Service Corps Annual Report for FY2020
ICE released their first Health Service Corps FY2020 annual report on the health care of those in ICE custody. The report highlights the facilities where IHSC staff operate, IHSC COVID-19 guidance, IHSC budget, vacancies in staffing, IHSC leadership, costs by diagnosis, and more.
AILA and Partners Call on ICE to Ensure Due Process in Operation Horizon
AILA, the American Immigration Council, and partner organizations sent a letter to ICE regarding "Operation Horizon"— its plan to mail Notices to Appear (NTA) to individuals released from the border.
EOIR Rescinds and Cancels PM 21-08 and Provides Guidelines for Pro Bono Legal Services
EOIR rescinded PM 21-08, stating that pro bono legal services should be facilitated as much as practicable in court. The memo states that courts should create pro bono committees and that Immigration Judges are encouraged to be flexible, especially in scheduling, with pro bono representatives.
CA4 Holds That Conviction in Virginia for Felony Eluding Is a CIMT
The court concluded that the definition of crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) does not violate the U.S. Constitution, and that Virginia’s felony eluding statute, Va. Code §46.2-817(B), constitutes a CIMT. (Canales Granados v. Garland, 11/4/21)
BIA Remands for Further Consideration of Eligibility for Voluntary Departure After Deficient NTA
The BIA remanded for evaluation of whether respondent statutorily eligible for voluntary departure after finding that a deficient NTA does not preclude the respondent from establishing the requisite period of continuous physical presence. Matter of M-F-O-, 28 I&N Dec. 408 (BIA 2021)
CRS Releases Report on Legality of DACA and Recent Litigation Developments
CRS released a report on the status of DACA, especially as it relates to Texas II. The report states that Congress has full authority over the future of DACA, either through termination, by giving DHS power to implement DACA, or by statutory relief to DACA recipients.
DHS Releases Privacy Impact Assessment for ICE Pilot on Use of Body Worn Cameras
DHS published a Privacy Impact Assessment to evaluate the privacy risks of Body Worn Camera technology, and to address issues related to information collection from camera usage. The Body Worn Camera Pilot was mandated by Congress and is intended to improve policing practices.
CA9 Says Stop-Time Rule Is Not Triggered by Final Order of Removal
The court held that the stop-time rule—which sets out the circumstances under which a period of continuous physical presence is deemed to end for cancellation of removal—is not triggered by a final order of removal. (Quebrado Cantor v. Garland, 11/3/21)
CA1 Says It Lacks Jurisdiction over Petitioner’s PSG Claim Because He Failed to Exhaust Administrative Remedies
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the petitioner’s claim that the BIA erred by rejecting his proposed particular social group (PSG) of “Brazilian landowners,” finding that the petitioner had failed to exhaust his administrative remedies. (Gomes v. Garland, 11/3/21)
TRAC Data Finds ICE Now Monitors Record High Numbers of Immigrants on "Alternatives to Detention" Program
According to new data available through TRAC, ICE is now monitoring more than 136,000 immigrants on "Alternatives to Detention" (ATD) programs. ICE is now using SmartLink to monitor the bulk of immigrants enrolled in these programs.
Plaintiffs Subjected to “Remain in Mexico” Policy File Emergency Order Requesting Permission to Enter United States
Six asylum seekers with final removal orders who were previously subjected to the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) filed a request for a temporary restraining order to allow them to return to the United States. (Immigrant Defenders Law Center, et al. v. Mayorkas, et al., 11/2/21)
CA1 Upholds BIA’s Affirmance of IJ’s Adverse Credibility Determination Where There Were Numerous Inconsistencies in Petitioner’s Testimony
The court upheld the denial of asylum to the petitioner, holding that substantial evidence supported the IJ’s and BIA’s adverse credibility determination because inconsistencies in petitioner's testimony were cumulatively persuasive of a lack of credibility. (Mashilingi v. Garland, 11/2/21)
CA6 Remands Domestic Violence Asylum Case for Consideration in Light of Vacatur of Matter of A-B- I
The court vacated the BIA’s decision and remanded the case with the direction to consider whether groups pertaining to domestic violence are cognizable particular social groups in light of the vacatur of Matter of A-B- I. (Zometa-Orellana v. Garland, 11/2/21)
CA9 Finds IJ’s Denial of Continuance of Petitioner’s Merits Hearing Violated His Right to Counsel
Applying a fact-based inquiry, the court held that the IJ’s refusal to grant a continuance of the petitioner’s merits hearing deprived him of his right to counsel, and thus granted the petition for review. (Usubakunov v. Garland, 11/1/21)
DHS OIG Releases Report Assessing Medical Vacancies in ICE Detention Facilities
DHS OIG evaluated the causes and impacts of medical vacancies at ICE facilities. DHS found that vacancies may increase the risk of inadequate care, but that circumstances of COVID-19 limit the assessment of all costs and effects. DHS made five recommendations and ICE concurred.
Attorney General Garland Announces Restoration of Standalone Office for Access to Justice
Attorney General Garland announced the restoration of a standalone Office for Access to Justice, as part of a phased strategic plan to expand community access to justice.
AILA and Partners Send Letter to Biden Administration on Access to Counsel and Legal Representation
AILA and partners sent a letter to the Biden administration highlighting the host of obstacles to attorney access that exist in immigration detention facilities nationwide and make recommendations on ways to eliminate the barriers.
CA7 Upholds BIA’s Conclusion That Petitioner Did Not Face a Substantial Risk of Torture as a Recent Deportee
Upholding the denial of Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief, the court found that the BIA correctly held that the IJ did not make any factual or legal error in finding that the petitioner did not face a substantial risk of torture as a recent deportee. (Mabuneza v. Garland, 10/28/21)
EOIR/ICE Joint Liaison Committee Fall Meeting with ICE ERO and OPLA
AILA’s EOIR/ICE Joint Liaison Committee provides final questions and answers from its October 28, 2021, engagement with ICE ERO and OPLA. Topics include current detention policies, ICE/ERO check-ins, guidance from OPLA on prosecutorial discretion, and delayed filing of Notices to Appear.
ICE Releases Updated COVID-19 ICE Detainee Statistics
ICE provided updated statistics on COVID-19 in ICE detainees, by facility. As of November 16, 2021, there are 355 positive cases currently in custody among a total detainee population of 24,445.