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
CA3 Finds BRA Release Order Does Not Foreclose ICE Detention During Pendency of Removal Proceedings
The court held that ICE may detain a defendant during the pendency of removal proceedings pursuant to INA §236(a)(1), notwithstanding a parallel criminal action subject to the Bail Reform Act (BRA). (United States v. Soriano Nunez, 7/2/19)
BIA Holds Possession of Drug Paraphernalia in Utah Is Not a Controlled Substance Offense
Unpublished BIA decision holds possession of drug paraphernalia under Utah Code Ann. 58-37A-5(1)(a) is not a controlled substance offense because statute schedule includes non-federally controlled substances and statute is indivisible. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Gonzalez, 7/1/19)
CA1 Finds Venezuelan Petitioner Showed Reasonable Likelihood He Would Face Persecution Based on Political Opinion
The court reversed BIA’s denial of the petitioner’s untimely motion to reopen his removal proceedings and remanded, holding that country conditions in Venezuela had worsened in a manner that was material to the petitioner’s asylum and withholding of removal claims. (Cabas v. Barr, 7/1/19)
Bite-Sized Ethics: Withdrawing When a Client Goes MIA
If you don't hear from a client after several attempts at communication, do you have the have grounds for withdrawal? In this bite-sized ethics article, learn more about the circumstances in which an attorney can withdraw without violating ethics rules.
EOIR Releases Percentage of DHS-Detained Cases Completed Within Six Months for Third Quarter of FY2019
EOIR released statistics on the percentage of DHS-detained cases completed within six months. As of 6/30/19, 92 percent of initial case completions took less than six months.
EOIR Releases Statistics on Decision Outcomes for Third Quarter of FY2019
EOIR released statistics on outcomes of initial case decisions for the third quarter of FY2019 (through 6/30/19). Statistics cover removal, deportation, and exclusion cases; asylum-only and withholding-only cases; and credible fear reviews, reasonable fear reviews, and claimed status reviews.
BIA Finds Arizona Drug Statute Not a Controlled Substance Offense
Unpublished BIA decision finds Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. 13-3408(A)(2) is not a controlled substance offense because state drug schedule is overbroad and Ninth Circuit does not require examples of actual prosecutions. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Arredondo-Avendano, 6/28/19)
BIA Holds Texas Theft Statute Not a CIMT Prior to Matter of Diaz-Lizarraga
Unpublished BIA decision holds that Matter of Diaz-Lizarraga, 26 I&N Dec. 847 (BIA 2016), cannot be retroactively applied to convictions for theft under Tex. Penal Code 31.03. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Sanchez-Robledo, 6/28/19)
BIA Dismisses Appeal After Finding N-550 Does Not Confer Citizenship Status if Acquired Unlawfully
The BIA found respondent removable because it is not necessary to show intent to establish he is deportable for making a false representation of U.S. citizenship and that a Form N-550 does not confer citizenship status if acquired unlawfully. Matter of Zhang, 27 I&N Dec. 569 (BIA 2019)
CA5 Denies Recovery of Attorneys’ Fees Where Government Was Prevailing Party on Majority of Petitioners’ Claims
The court held that, when viewed as an inclusive whole, the government was substantially justified in denying Convention Against Torture protection to petitioners, and the petitioners were ineligible for an Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) award. (W.M.V.C. v. Barr, 6/7/19, amended 6/28/19)
Documents Related to New York Lawsuit Challenging the Rescission of DACA
The Supreme Court granted certiorari to consider the issue of DHS's decision to rescind the DACA program. The Court consolidated this case together with DHS v. Regents of the University of California. (McAleenan v. Batalla Vidal, 6/28/19)
Documents Related to NAACP’s Lawsuit Challenging the Rescission of DACA
The Supreme Court granted certiorari to consider the issue of DHS’s decision to rescind the DACA program. The Court consolidated this case together with DHS v. Regents of the University of California. (Trump v. NAACP, 6/28/19)
CA8 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review Reinstatement of Mexican Petitioner’s 2003 Removal Order
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the reinstatement of petitioner’s prior removal order because the issue had not been exhausted, and found that petitioner could not succeed on his due process claim because he had failed to show prejudice. (Mendez-Gomez v. Barr, 6/27/19)
Justice Campaign Call: ICE Raids State of Play
News of the impending mass arrests of families and the exposure of children to terrible conditions at the border is nothing short of devastating. Listen to the Justice Campaign discuss what ICE raids targeting families have looked like in the past and what we might need from volunteers.
AG Refers Two BIA Cases to Himself and Solicits Amici on Judicial Alteration of a Criminal Conviction or Sentence
The AG invites amici on whether judicial alteration of a criminal conviction or sentence should be taken into consideration in determining the immigration consequences of convictions. Briefs are now due by 8/2/19. Matter of Thomas and Matter of Thompson, 27 I&N Dec. 556 (A.G. 2019)
Practice Pointer: The Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act and Its Effect on Immigration
AILA provides a practice pointer on cannabis legalization in Illinois and how the Regulation and Tax Act creates a system for expungement, pardon, and vacating certain cannabis convictions. Special thanks to Lindsay Fullerton.
CA4 Finds Reasonable Probability LPR Facing Deportation Would Not Have Pled Guilty but for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
The court found that the evidence demonstrated a reasonable probability that, had the lawful permanent resident (LPR) appellant known the true and certain extent of the immigration consequences of his guilty plea, he would have refused it. (United States v. Carrillo Murillo, 6/24/19)
Supreme Court Says Definition of “Crime of Violence” in Context of Federal Firearms Prosecutions Is Unconstitutionally Vague
The Court held that 18 USC §924(c)(3)(B), which lays out the definition of “crime of violence” for purposes of a law authorizing heightened penalties for use of a firearm in connection with any federal crime of violence, is unconstitutionally vague. (United States v. Davis, et al., 6/24/19)
AILA: Raids Targeting Families Would Sow Fear and Solve Nothing at Border
AILA issued a statement in response to widespread reports that ICE will be conducting mass round-ups of vulnerable families. Marketa Lindt, AILA President, noted, “Conducting raids on families would sow more fear and confusion without bringing order to the border region.”
NARA Notice of Reply to Public Comments on 2017 ICE Proposal to Destroy Records on Detainees
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) notice of the publication of a consolidated reply to comments submitted on a 2017 ICE proposal to destroy several types of records related to detainees, including records on sexual abuse and deaths while in custody. (84 FR 29247, 6/21/19)
Advocates File Lawsuit to End ICE’s Blanket Use of Video Teleconferencing at Varick Street Immigration Court
Advocates filed a federal lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York challenging ICE refusal to bring immigrants to court for deportation hearings. (P.L. v. ICE, 2/12/19)
BIA Reverses Grant of DHS Motion to Change Venue
Unpublished BIA decision grants interlocutory appeal and reverses grant of DHS motion to change venue to Orlando because of respondent’s willingness to travel back to New York to be represented by pro bono attorney. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ramirez Acosta, 6/21/19)
BIA Holds No Bond Required When Voluntary Departure Granted Under Safeguards
Unpublished BIA decision vacates requirement that respondent post voluntary departure bond because respondent was detained and voluntary departure was granted under safeguards. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Fuentes Sanchez, 6/20/19)
District Court Grants Preliminary Injunction Barring ICE from Conducting Immigration Arrests in Massachusetts Courthouses
The court enjoined U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from implementing ICE Directive No. 11072 and from civilly arresting parties, witnesses, and others attending Massachusetts courthouses on official business. (Ryan, et al. v. ICE, et al., 6/20/19)
CA8 Affirms BIA’s Denial of Motion to Reopen Based on Changed Country Conditions in Mexico
The court found that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in determining that the petitioner’s evidence of vague threats by gang members failed to establish past persecution and in finding that he failed to show a well-founded fear of future persecution. (Rivera-Guerrero v. Barr, 6/20/19)