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
CA8 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Somali Petitioner Who Was a Member of a Minority Islamic Sect
The court held that the petitioner was removable because his Minnesota conviction for possession of khat related to a federal controlled substance pursuant to INA §237(a)(2)(B)(i), and found that the petitioner had failed to prove that he was entitled to asylum. (Ahmed v. Garland, 4/8/21)
CA11 Says BIA Failed to Provide Reasoned Consideration of Petitioner’s Evidence of His Fear of Future Persecution in Cuba
The court held that the IJ and the BIA failed to provide reasoned consideration of the petitioner’s evidence of his well-founded fear of future persecution based on a pattern or practice of persecution toward dissident journalists in Cuba. (Martinez v. Att’y Gen., 4/7/21)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Withholding of Removal to Petitioner Who Claimed He Was Persecuted on Account of Religious Affiliation
The court upheld the BIA’s determination that the central reason for the Salvadoran petitioner’s claimed harm was his unwillingness to join the MS-13 gang—not his Christian faith or his faith-related activities. (Sánchez-Vásquez v. Garland, 4/7/21)
Department of the Treasury Notice on Interest Rates for Immigration Bonds
Department of the Treasury notice that for the period beginning 4/1/21 and ending 6/30/21, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Immigration Bond interest rate is 0.05 per centum per annum. (86 FR 17887, 4/6/21)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Motion to Reopen Filed a Decade After Petitioner’s Cancellation Application Was Denied
The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying the petitioner’s motion to reopen filed nearly 11 years after the denial of his cancellation of removal application, finding that he did not show that equitable tolling was warranted. (Quiroa-Motta v. Garland, 4/6/21)
CA9 Holds That a Conviction for First-Degree Burglary of a Dwelling in Oregon Is a CIMT
The court held that the BIA permissibly found that first-degree burglary of a dwelling under Oregon Revised Statutes §164.225 is a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT), and thus that petitioner’s conviction made him ineligible for cancellation of removal. (Diaz-Flores v. Garland, 4/6/21)
CA11 Holds That Florida Felon-in-Possession Conviction Is Categorically an Aggravated Felony
The court held that a Florida conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm is categorically an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(E)(ii), and thus found the petitioner to be removable based on his conviction under the Florida statute. (Aspilaire v. Att’y Gen., 4/6/21)
CA9 Reverses BIA’s Denial of Asylum to Petitioner Who Was Targeted on Account of Her Feminist Political Opinion
Granting the petition for review of the BIA’s decision reversing an IJ’s grant of asylum, the court held that evidence compelled the conclusion that petitioner had established a nexus between her mistreatment in Mexico and her feminist political opinion. (Rodriguez Tornes v. Garland, 4/5/21)
CA10 Finds That Mother and Son Targeted by MS-13 Gang Were Not Persecuted on Account of Membership in Son’s Immediate Family
Denying the petition for review, the court held that the BIA properly found that petitioners, a mother and her son, were not persecuted “on account of” their alleged membership in a particular social group (PSG) consisting of the son’s immediate family. (Orellana-Recinos v. Garland, 4/5/21)
AILA and Partners Submit Amicus Brief Arguing BIA Erred in Rejecting Proposed Social Group of “Salvadoran Women”
AILA and partners submitted an amicus brief in the Fourth Circuit arguing that the BIA erred when it categorically rejected the social group of Salvadoran women, and that the court should correct the Board’s error and vacate its decision.
EOIR Cancels Policy Memo 21-05 on Enhanced Case Flow Processing
In light of the issuance of Policy Memorandum 21-18, which provides an updated case flow processing model for the immigration courts, EOIR issued Policy Memorandum 21-17 rescinding and cancelling Policy Memorandum 21-05, Enhanced Case Flow Processing in Removal Proceedings.
EOIR Issues Policy Memo Revising Case Flow Processing Before the Immigration Courts
EOIR issued a policy memo (PM 21-18) implementing a revised case flow processing model for certain non-detained cases with representation in immigration courts. EOIR concurrently cancelled PM 21-05. The memo is effective April 2, 2021.
USCIS Confirms Elimination of “Blank Space” Criteria
USCIS confirmed that it will no longer reject Form I-589, Form I-612, or Form I-918 if an applicant leaves a blank space. USCIS stated that it has reverted to the form rejection criteria it applied before October 2019 regarding blank responses for all forms.
CA5 Says Res Judicata Did Not Bar Government from Charging Petitioner with Removability a Second Time
The court held that res judicata did not bar the government’s second charge of removability against the petitioner, because the second removability charge was based on a different statutory provision and was unavailable when the first charge was brought. (Cruz Rodriguez v. Garland, 4/1/21)
CA9 Denies Petitioner’s Motion for Attorneys’ Fees After Finding Government’s Position Was Substantially Justified
In a published order, the court denied a motion for attorneys’ fees pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), concluding that the government’s position was substantially justified and thus that the petitioner was not entitled to attorneys’ fees. (Meza-Vazquez v. Garland, 4/1/21)
CA11 Finds That BIA Erred in Treating Petitioner’s Denaturalization as Retroactive for Removal Purposes
Granting the petition for review and remanding, the court held that the BIA erred in finding that the petitioner, a denaturalized noncitizen, was removable as an aggravated felon based on convictions entered while he was an American citizen. (Hylton v. Att’y Gen., 3/31/21)
BIA Says New York Aggravated DUI Is a CIMT
Following Matter of Lopez-Meza, the BIA ruled that the offense of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree in violation of §511(3)(a)(i) of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law is categorically a CIMT. Matter of Vucetic, 28 I&N Dec. 276 (BIA 2021)
DHS Identifies Violations of ICE Detention Standards at La Palma Correctional Center in Arizona
DHS OIG released a report identifying violations of ICE detention standards at the La Palma Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona. Among other things, DHS OIG found that ICE did not enforce COVID-19 precautions, which may have contributed to a widespread outbreak of COVID-19 in the facility.
CA9 Concludes That Conviction for Petty Theft in California Is a CIMT
Withdrawing its opinion filed on 7/10/20, the court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in holding that petitioner, who had been convicted three times of petty theft under California Penal Code §484(a), was removable pursuant to INA §237(a)(2)(A)(ii). (Silva v. Garland, 3/30/21)
BIA Rules That the “Offense Clause” of the Federal Conspiracy Statute, 18 USC §371, Is Divisible
BIA ruled that the "offense clause” of the federal conspiracy statute, 18 USC §371, is divisible and the underlying substantive crime – selling counterfeit currency in violation of 18 USC §473 in this instance - is an element of the offense. Matter of Al Sabsabi, 28 I&N Dec. 269 (BIA 2021)
AILA and Partners Send Letter to DHS on Concerns Regarding the ICE Detention System
AILA and partners sent a letter to DHS on urgent, unaddressed concerns regarding the ICE detention system and requesting that ICE meaningfully consider all people in custody for release as the first step toward a longer term dismantling of the harmful ICE detention system.
CA8 Finds BIA Reasonably Concluded That Christian Petitioner Could Safely Relocate to Another Part of El Salvador
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s determination that the petitioner—a 22-year-old Christian woman who claimed she had been targeted by gangs in El Salvador—could relocate to another part of El Salvador if forced to return. (Guatemala-Pineda v. Garland, 3/26/21)
EOIR Announces New Privacy Waiver and Records Release Form
EOIR announced the release of Form EOIR-59, Certification and Release of Records, which enables current and former respondents who have or had business before EOIR to request or authorize the disclosure of their information. EOIR will continue to accept Form DOJ-361, Certification of Identity.
Practice Alert: EOIR Final Rule Making Major Changes to BIA Procedures Enjoined by District Court
On 1/15/21, the DOJ/EOIR rule, Appellate Procedures and Decisional Finality in Immigration Proceedings; Administrative Closure, which makes dramatic changes to immigration appeals procedures, became effective. On 3/10/21, it was enjoined by a district court.
EOIR Releases Comprehensive Policy Manual
EOIR announced that it has added a search function to its online Policy Manual, which provides access to all of EOIR's policies including the immigration court and BIA practice manuals, the OCAHO practice manual, and all current policy memos.