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
EOIR Releases Policy Memo on Management of Liberian Cases Related to NDAA for FY2020
EOIR released a policy memo providing guidance for addressing ancillary issues that may arise in immigration proceedings concerning Section 7611 of the recently enacted NDAA for FY2020 which established an eligibility program for adjustment of status for certain Liberian nationals.
TRAC Finds Asylum Decisions Vary Widely Across Judges and Courts
TRAC found asylum denial rates vary widely across judges and courts. Five immigration courts decided half the cases and had a denial rate of 49%. Houston denied 92% of cases and Miami 86% compared to NY, which denied 26% and SF, which denied 30%. Twelve immigration courts had denial rates above 90%.
Department of the Treasury Notice on Immigration Bond Interest Rates
Department of the Treasury notice that for the period beginning 1/1/20 and ending 3/31/20, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Immigration Bond interest rate is 1.61 per centum per annum. (85 FR 1375, 1/10/20)
AILA Policy Brief: Public Access to Tent Courts Now Allowed, but Meaningful Access Still Absent
AILA issued a policy brief following DHS’s announcement that it has opened the Laredo and Brownsville tent courts for court observers. DHS and DOJ have operationalized this directive in a way that fails to allow meaningful access to the tent court facilities and imposes new hurdles to transparency.
CA6 Vacates BIA’s Denial of Motion to Reopen of Iraqi Chaldean Christian Based on Ineffective Assistance Claim
The court found that the BIA abused its discretion by denying the motion to reopen of the petitioner, an Iraqi Chaldean Christian, holding that the BIA failed to account for record evidence and prior decisions involving nearly identical factual circumstances. (Kada v. Barr, 1/10/20)
Practice Alert: 30/60 Day Rule Eliminated from FAM Provisions on “Misrepresentation”
AILA provides a practice alert on the impact of recent revisions to the FAM with new guidance on evaluating “misrepresentation” for purposes of determining inadmissibility under INA §212(a)(6). The new FAM provisions eliminate the long-standing “30/60-Day Rule” and create a new “90-Day Rule.”
BIA Rules That an NTA Lacking Immigration Court’s Address Does Not Compel Termination
The BIA found that an NTA that does not indicate, or include a certificate of service indicating, the Immigration Court address does not deprive the court of subject matter jurisdiction thus compelling termination. Matter of Rosales Vargas and Rosales Rosales, 27 I&N Dec. 745 (BIA 2020)
BIA Finds Late-Arriving Respondent Did Not Fail to Appear
Unpublished BIA decision finds that the respondent’s late arrival did not constitute a failure to appear because the IJ was still on the bench when she arrived. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Solis Valero, 1/9/20)
CA5 Finds Res Judicata Inapplicable Where Removability Based on Burglary Conviction Was Not Litigated
The court held that res judicata did not preclude DHS from seeking to remove petitioner on the basis of his burglary conviction, because his convictions for evading arrest with a motor vehicle and burglary were not based on the same nucleus of operative facts. (Chavez-Mercado v. Barr, 1/8/20)
IJ Finds Wrongful Impersonating in New Jersey Is Not Categorically a CIMT
An Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings and held that the crime of wrongful impersonating in violation of N.J. Stat. Ann. §2C:21-17 was overbroad and not categorically a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). Courtesy of Michael Goldman. (Matter of –, 1/7/20)
CBP Initiates Pilot Program to Assess Collection of DNA Samples
CBP announced the initiation of a pilot program to assess the operational impact of proposed regulatory changes that would require the collection of DNA samples from certain individuals in CBP custody. The pilot program will be implemented in the Detroit Sector and at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry.
EOIR Suspends Operations at the Louisville Immigration Court Due to Building Conditions
EOIR announced that there is no projected reopening date for the Louisville Immigration Court and cases have been cancelled through March 31, 2020.
CBP and ICE Provide Privacy Impact Assessment of DNA Collection from Detainees
CBP and ICE conducted a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) to provide notice to the public of biometric DNA collection from persons who are detained under the authority of the United States consistent with the DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005, and to analyze the associated privacy risks.
BIA Rules That Making Terroristic Threats in Violation of §609.713, Subdivision 1, of the Minnesota Statutes Is a CIMT
BIA ruled that the offense of making terroristic threats in violation of section 609.713, subdivision 1, of the Minnesota Statutes is categorically a crime involving moral turpitude. Matter of Haji Osman Salad, 27 I&N Dec. 733 (BIA 2020)
CA7 Upholds Finding That Petitioner Failed to Establish Extreme Hardship Under INA §240A(b)(2)(A)(v)
The court denied the petition for review, holding that the IJ and the BIA adequately evaluated the four relevant factors for assessing whether a noncitizen has met the extreme-hardship standard and the evidence that the petitioner had presented. (Simental-Galarza v. Barr, 1/2/20)
EOIR Issues Guidance on the Submission and Processing of Requests for Speaking Engagements
EOIR issued guidance to announce the establishment of a new automated speaking engagement request portal and to restate EOIR’s established policy on speaking engagements and the procedures employees must follow when requesting approval to speak at outside engagements.
BIA Terminates Proceedings Following Grant of U Nonimmigrant Status
Unpublished BIA decision reopens and terminates proceedings sua sponte over DHS opposition following grant of U nonimmigrant status. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Mariano-Martinez, 12/31/20)
CBP Directive on Enhanced Medical Support Efforts
CBP’s Office of the Commissioner issued a directive directing CBP’s “deployment of enhanced medical support efforts to mitigate risk to, and sustain enhanced medical efforts for persons in CBP custody along the Southwest Border” as a result of the surges in unaccompanied children and family units.
AILA Submits Amicus Brief to the Fifth Circuit on the Two-Step Notice Process
AILA submitted an amicus brief in Munoz-Granados v. Barr arguing that the BIA’s conclusion that the two-step process triggers the stop-time rule conflicts with the statute’s unambiguous text and departs unreasonably from the consistent recognition of an NTA as a single document.
CA10 Remands Withholding of Removal Claim to Consider Petitioner’s Pattern-or-Practice Argument
The court remanded the case to the BIA for further consideration of the petitioner’s withholding of removal claim, in order to determine whether his fear of future persecution was based on a pattern or practice of the Democratic Republic of the Congo government. (Matumona v. Barr, 12/30/19)
CA7 Upholds Denial of Motion to Reopen Where Mexican Petitioner Alleged Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying petitioner’s motion to reopen based on her attorney’s allegedly ineffective assistance in not advancing her claim she would be persecuted upon return to Mexico as a result of mental illness. (Garcia-Arce v. Barr, 12/30/19)
CA3 Transfers Case to District Court for Hearing on Whether Petitioner’s Parents Had a Legal Separation
The court vacated the BIA’s decision affirming the IJ’s denial of the petitioner’s citizenship claim and transferred the petition for review to a district court for a de novo hearing to determine whether the petitioner’s parents were separated legally. (Espichan v. Att’y Gen., 12/27/19)
CA8 Finds Reinstatement Statute Prevented Petitioner from Attacking Validity of His Underlying Removal Order
The court denied the petition for review of the petitioner’s reinstatement order, finding that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the petitioner’s arguments concerning the validity of his underlying removal order. (Lara-Nieto v. Barr, 12/27/19)
CA8 Finds Petitioner Did Not Raise a Valid Constitutional Claim or Question of Law Regarding Denial of Cancellation Application
The court held that the BIA did not err in finding that the petitioner had failed to satisfy his burden to show that his children would suffer an “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship” should he be removed and should his children accompany him to Mexico. (Apolinar v. Barr, 12/27/19)
BIA Holds Current Valid Passport Not Required for Voluntary Departure
Unpublished BIA decision holds that applicants for voluntary departure need only have authorization to enter country to which they would depart and thus do not need a current valid passport. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Hernandez-Oviedo, 12/27/19)