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
AILA Submits an Amicus Brief to the First Circuit on the Two-Step Notice Process
AILA submitted an amicus brief to the First Circuit in Boutriq v. Barr, arguing that the BIA’s conclusion of the two-step process triggers the stop-time rule conflicts with the statute’s unambiguous text and unreasonably departs from the consistent recognition that a NTA is a single document.
District Court Says Asylum Seekers at Buffalo Federal Detention Facility Are No Longer Entitled to Bond Hearings After Six Months
A New York district court held that after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Jennings v. Rodriguez, ICE is no longer required to give individualized bond hearings to noncitizens detained for more than six months and decertified the subclass. (Abdi, et al. v. McAleenan, et al., 9/24/19)
CA2 Says Second-Degree Assault with a Deadly Weapon in New York Is an Aggravated Felony Crime of Violence
The court concluded that the petitioner’s conviction for second-degree assault with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument under New York Penal Law (NYPL) §120.05(2) was an aggravated felony crime of violence under 18 USC §16(a). (Singh v. Barr, 9/24/19)
AILA Submits Comments on Expanding the Categories of Persons Designated Eligible for Expedited Removal
AILA submitted comments in response to DHS’s notice expanding the categories of persons designated eligible for expedited removal (ER). AILA raised concerns about how the process is already fundamentally flawed and requested that DHS address the long-standing problems of ER and halt the expansion.
Board of Immigration Appeals Practice Manual (9/23/19)
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) provided an updated Practice Manual (last revised on September 23, 2019). This manual describes procedures, requirements, and recommendations for practice before the BIA.
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Issued Day After End of Government Shutdown
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order against respondent who was told the day the government shutdown ended that the immigration court would remain closed the following day. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Bennet, 9/23/19)
DHS Issues Statement on Safety and Enforcement During Tropical Depression Imelda
DHS announced that there will be no immigration enforcement initiatives associated with evacuations or sheltering related to Tropical Depression Imelda in southeast Texas, except in the event of a serious public safety threat.
Advocacy Groups File Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration’s New Expedited Removal Policy
The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the Trump Administration’s July 23, 2019, rule that dramatically expands the reach of expedited removal. (Centro Presente, Inc. et al., v. McAleenan, et al., 9/20/19)
AILA Submits an Amicus Brief on the Two-Step Notice Process
AILA submitted an amicus brief in Barillas 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 turns on the content of a single document without consideration of prior agency decision.
Featured Issue: USCIS’s Elimination of Non-Military Deferred Action at Local USCIS Offices
Learn more about USCIS's decision to eliminate non-military deferred action and DHS’s reestablishment of these types of requests on a discretionary, case-by-case basis.
BIA Holds Pennsylvania Simple Assault Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that simple assault under 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. 2701(a)(3) is not a CIMT because it does not require specific intent to place another in actual imminent danger. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Brissett, 9/20/19)
EOIR Releases FY2019 Data on Complaints Against Immigration Judges
EOIR released information on complaints against immigration judges, including complaints from FY2015-FY2019, number and percentage of IJs against whom complaints were received, the nature of complaints opened, sources of complaints, and methods of disposition for complaints closed.
Local EOIR Liaison Meeting Minutes with ACIJ Clay Martin
Local EOIR Liaison meeting minutes with ACIJ Clay Martin on the San Antonio, Pearsall, and Otero Immigration Courts and the Laredo tent "court."
USCIS Acting Director Sends Letter Regarding Deferred Action Applications for Non-Military Applicants
In a letter to Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD), USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli confirms that “USCIS is returning to the deferred action process that was in place on August 6, 2019” and is reopening “consideration of non-military deferred action requests.”
USCIS Reestablishes Deferred Action After AILA and Members Campaign for Agency Accountability
AILA welcomed the news that USCIS will reestablish the previous process allowing vulnerable individuals to request deferred action when faced with life-changing circumstances.
Update: USCIS Resumes Accepting and Adjudicating Deferred Action Applications for Non-Military Applicants
Today, DHS alerted the Oversight & Reform Committee that at the discretion of the Acting Secretary it would resume “consideration of non-military deferred action requests on a discretionary, case-by-case basis, except as otherwise required by an applicable statute, regulation, or court order.”
BIA Holds Virginia Eluding Statute Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that eluding under Va. Code Ann. 46.2-817(B) is not a CIMT because it only requires a mens rea of negligence. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ramirez Moz, 9/19/19)
BIA Upholds Adjustment of Status for Respondent with Five DUIs
Unpublished BIA decision upholds discretionary grant of adjustment of status for respondent with five prior convictions for driving under the influence. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Segura Romero, 9/19/19)
CA9 Holds OSC Served on 16-Year-Old Minor in 1996 Comported with Regulatory Notice Requirements and Due Process
The court held that the Order to Show Cause and Notice of Hearing (OSC) petitioner received comported with regulatory requirements and due process, rejecting his argument that he did not receive proper notice because he was 16 years old and no adult was served. (Cruz Pleitez v. Barr, 9/18/19)
CA1 Concludes NTA Omitting Date and Time of Initial Removal Hearing Did Not Strip Immigration Court of Jurisdiction
The court denied the petition for review, holding that the petitioner’s Notice to Appear (NTA) was effective to commence removal proceedings in the immigration court, notwithstanding the absence of a date and time for his removal hearing. (Batista Ferreira v. Barr, 9/18/19)
TRAC Report Finds that Immigration Court’s Active Backlog Has Surpassed One Million
A TRAC report found that the immigration court’s active backload of cases has passed one million. Through the end of August 2019, the backlog was 1,007,155. A total of 384,977 new cases were filed in the first 11 months of FY2019. About 10 percent of these new filings were MPP cases.
EOIR Releases Immigration Court Video Advisals
EOIR released the prerecorded video advisals that it has begun using in some immigration courts. The videos are in English and Spanish and targeted separately to detained and non-detained individuals. EOIR has replaced interpreters at some master calendar hearings with these video advisals.
OSC Takes Disciplinary Action Against Former Immigration Judge for Hatch Act Violation
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) announced that Carmene “Zsa Zsa” DePaolo, a former immigration judge, had been fined $1,000 with a 30-month debarment from federal service for violating the Hatch Act from the bench. DePaolo was found to have made partisan statements during a hearing.
CRS Report Provides Legal Overview of Immigration Detention
CRS released a report providing an overview of immigration detention. The report lays out the legal and historical background of detention, the statutory framework that provides for detention, and legal issues concerning DHS’s detention powers, including indefinite detention and detention of minors.
CA1 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Ecuadorian Petitioner Who Said He Was Confused by IJ’s Questioning
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s affirmance of the denial of asylum, finding that the record provided ample support for the IJ’s conclusion that the petitioner’s statements were inconsistent and that his explanation was implausible. (Loja-Paguay v. Barr, 9/16/19)