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
Department of the Treasury Notice on Interest Rate for Immigration Bonds
Department of the Treasury notice that for the period beginning 10/1/21 and ending 12/31/21, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Immigration Bond interest rate is 0.05 per centum per annum. (86 FR 55922, 10/7/21)
CA7 Upholds Withholding of Removal Denial to Petitioner Who Feared Persecution in Jamaica as a Gay Man
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s decision that the Jamaican petitioner, who feared that the government might punish him for violating Jamaica’s anti-sodomy laws, did not face a likelihood of state-sanctioned persecution. (Murry v. Garland, 10/7/21)
CA9 Says Petitioner’s Conviction for First-Degree Assault in Washington Was Categorically a Crime of Violence
The court concluded that first-degree assault under Washington Revised Code §9A.36.011 was categorically a crime of violence aggravated felony, thus rendering the petitioner removable under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(iii). (Amaya v. Garland, 10/7/21)
AILA and the Council Urge Creation of Universal System for Discretionary Release from ICE Detention
AILA and the American Immigration Council sent a follow-up letter to DHS calling for the creation of a meaningful and functioning system of discretionary release within ICE.
CA9 Says California Law Banning Private Detention Centers Impedes Federal Immigration Policy
The court held that California Assembly Bill 32 (AB 32), which aimed to phase out all private detention facilities within the state, could not stand because it tried to regulate an area that belongs exclusively in the realm of the federal government. (The GEO Group, Inc. v. Newsom, 10/5/21)
CA6 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Petitioner Who Alleged Economic Persecution by Guatemalan Government
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s conclusion that the petitioner, an indigenous K’iche’ woman from Guatemala, had neither suffered, nor had a well-founded fear of economic persecution by the Guatemalan government. (Hernandez-Hernandez v. Garland, 10/4/21)
Government Reaches Settlement with Flores Plaintiffs to Pay $1.15 Million in EAJA Fees
The parties reached a settlement to resolve the plaintiffs’ Motion for Award of Attorneys’ Fees and Costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), in which the government agreed to pay $1,150,000 in attorneys’ fees and litigation costs. (Flores, et al. v. Garland, et al., 9/30/21)
Ethical Duties for Prosecutorial Discretion Requests
Learn about the ethical questions the prosecutorial discretion memo can create and how to address them in this article by Michele Carney, chair of AILA’s Ethics Committee. Answer important questions related to auditing removal files, advising clients, fees, and staying up-to-date on the latest.
DHS Issues Updated Guidance on the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law
DHS issued updated guidance on the enforcement of civil immigration law. Guidance is effective on 11/29/21 and will rescind prior civil immigration guidance. This memo is often referred to as the Mayorkas memo.
AILA: Implementation Will Show if New ICE Guidelines Go Far Enough
AILA welcomed new guidelines announced by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas which would shape actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents across the country.
CA9 Holds That BIA’s Summary Dismissal of Pro Se Litigant’s Appeal Violated Her Right to Due Process
The court held that, given petitioner’s status as a pro se litigant, her Notice of Appeal was sufficiently specific to inform the BIA of the issues challenged on appeal, and thus the BIA violated her right to due process by summarily dismissing her appeal. (Nolasco-Amaya v. Garland, 9/28/21)
EOIR 60-Day Notice and Request for Comments on Form EOIR-40
EOIR 60-day notice and request for comments on proposed changes to Form EOIR-40, Application for Suspension of Deportation. Comments are due 11/29/21. (86 FR 53677, 9/28/21)
EOIR Launches “Access EOIR” Initiative
EOIR announced its “Access EOIR” initiative, which attempts to raise representation for individuals appearing before immigration courts. New trainings under the Model Hearing Program are available, and recent EOIR efforts include the development of the Counsel for Children Initiative.
USCIS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on DACA
USCIS notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on DACA. If finalized as proposed, the NPRM would codify the existing DACA policy with a few limited changes. Comments are due 11/29/21. (86 FR 53736, 9/28/21)
CA5 Finds BIA Abused Its Discretion in Denying Motion to Reopen Where Petitioner’s NTA Lacked Time and Date Information
Where the petitioner’s Notice to Appear (NTA) lacked the time and date of his hearing, the court held that the BIA based its denial of petitioner’s motion to reopen and rescind his in absentia removal order on a legally erroneous interpretation of INA §239(a). (Rodriguez v. Garland, 9/27/21)
CA9 Finds IJ Discounted Probative Evidence on Flimsy Grounds and Displayed Dubious Understanding of How Rape Survivors Should Act
Granting the petition for review of the BIA’s denial of asylum and remanding, the court held that the IJ erred by failing to give specific, cogent reasons for rejecting petitioner’s reasonable, plausible explanations for the discrepancies tied to her declaration. (Munyuh v. Garland, 8/25/21)
CA5 Finds BIA Abused Its Discretion by Entirely Failing to Address Libyan Petitioner’s CAT Claim
The court held that the BIA abused its discretion by entirely failing to address the Libyan petitioner’s Convention Against Torture (CAT) claim, where the petitioner had raised his CAT claim several times in his briefing before the BIA. (Abushagif v. Garland, 9/24/21)
CA6 Finds Asylum Applicant Did Not Show Guatemalan Government Was Unable to Protect Women from Persecution by Individuals
The court held that the petitioner did not meet her burden of proving that the Guatemalan government is or was unable or unwilling to protect women from the persecution that she claimed to fear—namely, violence or kidnapping by private individuals. (Ramos Rafael v. Garland, 9/24/21)
DOJ OIG Releases Report on Expansion of the Institutional Hearing and Removal Program for Federal Inmates
DOJ OIG reviewed the expansion of the Institutional Hearing and Removal Program (IHRP). They found that DOJ coordinated with DHS to generally achieve the three goals of expansion, participants spent less time in ICE detention, and neither DHS nor DOJ has a plan to assess the expansion or program.
CA9 Says BIA Did Not Abuse Its Discretion in Finding Petitioner’s 2016 Motion Was Untimely or in Declining to Sua Sponte Reopen
The court concluded that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in determining that the petitioner’s 2016 motion to reopen was untimely, nor did it commit legal error in declining to sua sponte reopen her case. (Cui v. Garland, 9/23/21)
BIA Clarifies When an NTA Constitutes a “Charging Document”
The BIA dismissed the respondent’s appeal after finding that a Notice to Appear that lacks the time and place of an initial removal hearing constitutes a “charging document.” Matter of Arambula-Bravo, 28 I&N Dec. 388 (BIA 2021)
CIS Ombudsman’s Office Releases Tips for Renewing DACA
The CIS Ombudsman sent a reminder with tips for submitting a request to USCIS to renew DACA applications.
CA9 Finds Convictions in Washington for Robbery and Attempted Robbery in the Second Degree Are Not Aggravated Felonies
Granting the petition for review, the court held that the petitioner’s convictions in Washington for robbery in the second degree and attempted robbery in the second degree did not qualify as aggravated felony theft offenses under INA §101(a)(43)(G), (U). (Alfred v. Garland, 9/22/21)
CA3 Reverses Denial of Asylum to Petitioner Who Fled Yemen to Avoid Persecution on Account of Political Opinion
Where the Yemeni petitioner had been kidnapped and tortured before being convicted and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for political opposition to the Houthi regime, the court concluded that the BIA erred in determining that he was ineligible for asylum. (Ghanem v. Att’y Gen., 9/22/21)
CA9 Finds Inconsistencies in Petitioner’s Asylum and Visa Applications Were Sufficient to Support Adverse Credibility Determination
Where the petitioner claimed she was persecuted because of her membership in a house church that was not registered with the Chinese government, the court held that the BIA appropriately relied on two inconsistencies in making its adverse credibility determination. (Li v. Garland, 9/21/21)