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
BIA Grants New Bond Hearing Because IJ Conducted All the Questioning
Unpublished BIA decision remands for new bond hearing because the IJ conducted all the questioning and did not give either attorney a chance to ask questions. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of L-R-B-, 5/12/20)
BIA Finds Respondent Who Arrived Late to Hearing Did Not Fail to Appear
Unpublished BIA decision finds respondent did not fail to appear for hearing where he arrived 25 minutes late due to unexpectedly heavy traffic and was in communication with his attorney who was in the courtroom. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Hernandez-Yanez, 5/8/20)
BIA Rules That Absence of a Checked Alien Classification Box Does Not Render an NTA Fatally Deficient
The BIA ruled that the absence of a checked alien classification box does not, by itself, render an NTA fatally deficient; preclude an IJ from exercising jurisdiction over removal proceedings; or terminate proceedings under MPP. Matter of Herrera-Vasquez, 27 I&N Dec. 825 (BIA 2020)
Supreme Court Finds CA9 Abused Its Discretion in Case Involving Immigration Consultant Convicted of Encouraging Illegal Immigration
Where the Ninth Circuit had asked amici to argue issues framed by the court instead of adjudicating the case presented by the parties, the Supreme Court held that the court’s departure from the party presentation principle was an abuse of discretion. (United States v. Sineneng-Smith, 5/7/20)
CA4 Finds Petitioner’s Virginia Conviction for Distribution of Cocaine as an Accommodation Was an Aggravated Felony
Applying the modified categorical approach, the court held that distribution of cocaine under Virginia Code §18.2-248 satisfies the federal definitions of an aggravated felony and of a crime relating to a controlled substance, and thus denied the petition for review. (Cucalon v. Barr, 5/7/20)
CA8 Holds Knowing Failure to Comply with Minnesota’s Sex Offender Registration Statute Is a CIMT
The court upheld the BIA’s determination that petitioner’s convictions for Criminal Sexual Conduct in the Fifth Degree in Minnesota and knowing failure to comply with Minnesota’s sex offender registration statute constituted crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs). (Bakor v. Barr, 5/7/20)
Immigration Justice Campaign and Partners File Complaint Highlighting ICE’s Failure to Protect Detainees During the COVID-19 Pandemic
On May 7, 2020, the Immigration Justice Campaign and partners filed a complaint with the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the Office of the Inspector General highlighting the experiences of those detained in ICE custody during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Complaint Details ICE’s Failure to Protect Those in Its Custody Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
Immigration Justice Campaign Director Karen Lucas and National Advocacy Counsel Katie Shepherd detail why ICE’s failure to protect those in its custody during the COVID-19 pandemic demands immediate oversight by DHS.
BIA Equitably Tolls Deadline for MTR Filed Two Years After Favorable Circuit Decision
Unpublished BIA decision equitably tolls the MTR deadline and terminates proceedings where respondent filed motion more than two years after Ninth Circuit decision holding that conviction did not qualify as an aggravated felony. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Dang, 5/7/20)
AILA Provides Summary of the Federal Immigrant Release for Safety and Security Act
AILA provides a summary to the S__: Federal Immigrant Release for Safety and Security Act (FIRST Act) introduced by Senator Booker (D-NJ) that would require the release of most individuals detained by ICE during a national emergency related to a communicable disease.
CA9 Says Initial NTA Need Not Contain Time, Date, and Place Information to Vest an Immigration Court with Jurisdiction
The court concluded that an initial Notice to Appear (NTA) does not need to contain the time, date, and location information of a removal hearing to vest an immigration court with jurisdiction if such information is provided before the hearing. (Aguilar Fermin v. Barr, 5/5/20)
AILA and the American Immigration Council Obtain EOIR Hiring Plan via FOIA Litigation
On 4/21/20, AILA and the Council obtained via FOIA litigation the EOIR IJ and AIJ hiring process, approved by Attorney General Barr on 3/8/19. This document revises both the IJ hiring process implemented on 3/28/18, and the process for hiring BIA members implemented on 9/12/07.
CA9 Asks Arizona Supreme Court to Decide Whether Two State Drug Laws Are Divisible and Can Trigger Removability
The court certified three questions of state law to the Arizona Supreme Court in order to determine whether Arizona’s possession of drug paraphernalia statute (ARS §13-3415) and Arizona’s drug possession statute (ARS §13-3408) are divisible as to drug type. (Romero-Millan v. Barr, 5/4/20)
S. ___: Federal Immigrant Release for Safety and Security Together Act (FIRST Act)
On 4/30/20, Senator Booker (D-NJ), introduced the Federal Immigrant Release for Safety and Security Together Act (S.__) to require the release of most individuals detained by ICE during a national emergency related to a communicable disease. AILA endorses this bill.
New Documents Reveal Immigration Judge Hiring Plan Designed to Stack the Courts, Prioritize Politics Over Justice
AILA Executive Director Benjamin Johnson and American Immigration Council Executive Director Beth Werlin react to documents obtained by the organizations via FOIA revealing DOJ Executive Office for Immigration Review’s updated hiring plan for Immigration Judges and Appellate Immigration Judges.
AILA and Partners Send Letter Urging DHS and ICE to Expedite Releases of Individuals in Immigration Custody
On May 4, 2020, AILA and partners sent a letter to DHS and ICE requesting a coordinated and timely plan to expedite releases for individuals in immigration custody due to detainees and employees testing positive for the coronavirus.
AILA and Partners Submit Amicus Brief in Borden v. United States on Whether a Crime with a Mens Rea of Recklessness Counts as a “Violent Felo
AILA and partners submitted an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case of Borden v. United States discussing the severe consequences that will arise in immigration cases if the court determines that a crime with a mens rea of recklessness qualifies as a “violent felony” under the ACCA.
CA1 Upholds Denial of Motion to Reopen of Chinese Buddhist Petitioner in Indonesia
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of untimely motion to reopen, finding that the petitioner, who alleged that she faced harm in Indonesia based on her Chinese ethnicity and Buddhist religion, had not met her burden to show materially changed country conditions. (Sutarsim v. Barr, 5/1/20)
CA9 Says Petitioner’s Nevada Conviction for Possession of Child Pornography Is Not a “Sexual Abuse of a Minor” Aggravated Felony
The court held that petitioner’s conviction for “[p]ossession of visual presentation depicting sexual conduct of person under 16 years of age” in violation of Nevada Rev. Statutes §200.730 was not a sexual abuse of a minor aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(A). (Mero v. Barr, 5/1/20)
EOIR Swears in Three New Board Members
EOIR announced the investiture of three new members to the Board of Immigration Appeals. The new members were appointed by Attorney General William Barr in April 2020. Notice includes the new Board members’ biographical information.
EOIR Issues Memo on Adjudicating Applications for CNMI Resident Status and Extending the Asylum Application Bar for Certain Persons in the CNMI
EOIR memo provides guidance on the adjudication of CNMI Resident Status applications in removal proceedings and the extended asylum application bar for persons present or arriving in the CNMI. The guidance may affect individuals in the CNMI and cases in the Saipan and Honolulu immigration courts.
BIA Holds Conviction Not Valid for Immigration Purposes Following Vacatur Under Cal. Penal Code 1473.(7)(3)
Unpublished BIA decision finds conviction vacated under Calif. Penal Code 1473.7(3) is no longer valid for immigration purposes. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Antunez Delgado, 4/29/20)
CA2 Remands Former Jamaican Police Officer’s Withholding and CAT Claims Based on Feared Gang Violence
The court held that it could not conclude on the existing record whether the BIA had considered all relevant evidence and had applied the correct legal standard in rejecting the withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture (CAT) claims of the petitioner. (Scarlett v. Barr, 4/28/20)
Plaintiffs Will Continue Fight to Halt Dangerous and Unconstitutional Practices by EOIR and ICE
The decision denying the emergency TRO in NIPNLG, et al., v. EOIR, et al., is deeply disappointing; the lawsuit against EOIR and ICE was brought to protect the health of attorneys, immigrants, and the public from the impact of dangerous and unconstitutional policies.
Timeline of Case Challenging Immigration Court and Detention Policies in Response to COVID-19
The district judge denied the motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO). AILA, the Immigration Justice Campaign, the NIPNLG, and several detained individuals filed a TRO challenging immigration court and detention policies during COVID-19. (NIPNLG et al., v. EOIR et al., 4/28/20)