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 Holds Petitioner Not a Citizen, Mooting Citizenship Claims for Underlying District Court Appeal and Agency Review Petitions
The court found that, based on the law at the time of petitioner’s father’s naturalization, petitioner was not entitled to derivative citizenship because his never-married parents could not have “legally separated” for purposes of 8 USC §1432(a)(3). (Dessouki v. Att’y Gen., 2/14/19)
CA2 Remanded Due to Ineffective Assistance and Vacated Both Plea and Conviction that Mandated Removal
The court held district court failed to consider corum nobis legal standards and improperly denied writ; CA2 found petitioner met standards/entitled to relief (in particular, ineffective assistance was prejudicial and, thus, compelling circumstance for writ). (Doe v. United States, 2/14/19)
EOIR Announces Plans to Relocate the Buffalo Immigration Court
EOIR announced it will temporarily close its Buffalo, NY, immigration court at 12:00 noon (ET) on February 20, 2019, to prepare for relocation to another floor within the building. Hearings will recommence on the third floor of the building on February 26, 2019.
Bite-Sized Ethics: Asylum and Adult Mental Impairment
When representing a mentally impaired client in removal proceedings, a lawyer must pay special attention to the ethics rule on clients with diminished capacity. In this bite-sized article, learn about whose support the attorney should enlist and the attorney’s ethical obligations to their client.
Importance of Nationality in Immigration Court Bond Decisions
TRAC found that the chances of being granted bond at hearings before IJs vary markedly by nationality, as do required bond amounts. More than three out of every four individuals from India or Nepal, were granted bond, while only between 11 and 15% of immigrants from Cuba received a favorable ruling.
CA11 Holds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review Factual Findings Underlying Denials of Withholding and Deferral of Removal Relief
In an unpublished decision, the court denied in part and dismissed in part the petition for review, holding that it lacked jurisdiction to review the petitioner’s argument about the likelihood of future harm in Lebanon. (Nasrallah v. Att’y Gen., 2/14/19)
BIA Holds Utah Possession of Drug Paraphernalia Not a Controlled Substance Offense
Unpublished BIA decision holds that conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia was not a controlled substance offense because the record of conviction does not identify substance involved. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Lopez-Morales, 2/13/19)
BIA Holds New York Statute Targeting Unlicensed Drivers Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle under NY Veh. and Traf. Law 511.3 is not a CIMT because defendant need not have actual knowledge that driving privileges were revoked. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Alcantara, 2/13/19)
DHS OIG Finds Issues Requiring Action at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, NJ
DHS OIG issued a report after a visit to the Essex County Correctional Facility identified serious violations, stating that ICE must “more closely scrutinizing the facility’s process for reporting incidents involving detainees, the handling of perishable foods, and the detainees’ living conditions.”
CA10 Upholds BIA Denial of Asylum and Withholding for Former Mexican Police Officer
The court held BIA reasonably relied on substantial evidence to find petitioner failed to show that threats he received while an active officer established past or future persecution based on his current status as an incorruptible former police officer. (Aguilar-Perez v. Whitaker, 2/13/19)
CA9 Affirms Removability, Upholds BIA Interpretation of “Single Scheme of Criminal Misconduct” and Its Inapplicability to Petitioner
The court denied petition for review, upholding BIA’s interpretation and finding that the petitioner was removable because his crimes did not arise out of a single scheme under BIA precedent. (Szonyi v. Whitaker, 2/13/19)
CA4 Grants Petition for Review After Finding CAT Risk of Torture Must Be Considered from All Sources in the Aggregate
The court held that neither the IJ nor BIA properly aggregated tattooed former gang member’s risk of torture from a combination of police, gangs, and vigilante groups; it also found neither meaningfully engaged with the submitted evidence. (Rodriguez-Arias v. Whitaker, 2/12/19)
ICE Releases Memo on Implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols
ICE released a memo on its implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols.
ICE Releases Guidance on Migrant Protection Protocols
ICE released a memo providing guidance to impacted Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) field offices on implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols.
Bicameral Letter to DHS and USCIS on DACA Recipients’ Eligibility for Advance Parole
On 2/12/19, U.S. Senators and Representatives sent a letter to DHS and USCIS asking for information about DACA recipients’ eligibility for advance parole to travel internationally.
AILA Submits Amicus Brief on Motions to Reopen Based on Changed Country Conditions
AILA submitted a second amicus brief in Hamama v. Homan with a primary focus on the “when” of a Motion to Reopen based on changed country conditions.
Practice Pointer: Arguing Against Pretermission of Asylum Cases in Immigration Court in the Aftermath of Matter of A-B- and Matter of E-F
This practice pointer describes arguments that attorneys may make when immigration judges pretermit asylum applications without affording the applicants an individual calendar hearing at which they can present testimony and other evidence in support of their asylum cases.
CA5 Upholds Removability for Drug Offense, Affirms BIA’s Application of Circumstance-Specific Approach to Personal Use Exception
The court denied petition for review and held BIA reasonably used the circumstance-specific approach, versus the categorical approach, to determine if a conviction under Tenn. Code Ann. §39-17-418, fell within the personal use exception. (Cardoso de Flores v. Whitaker, 2/11/19)
BIA Remands to Consider Divisibility of Arizona Definition of Methamphetamine
Unpublished BIA decision remands record to consider whether Arizona definition of methamphetamine is divisible between optical and geometric isomers. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Avalos, 2/11/19)
BIA Vacates Requirement That Respondent Post Voluntary Departure Bond
Unpublished BIA decision vacated requirement that respondent post $500 voluntary departure bond because ICE declined to accept it due to computer problems at the DHS office. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Bastida-Garcia, 2/7/19)
A Constitutional Argument for an Independent Immigration Court
Law Student member Jeri Milan discusses a constitutional argument for an independent immigration court.
BIA Finds IJ Improperly Denied Motion to Reopen for Lack of Jurisdiction
Unpublished BIA decision holds that the IJ should have exercised jurisdiction over the respondent’s motion to reopen because his prior appeal had been dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Aguirre-Polanco, 2/5/19)
CA9 Bound by Precedent that CIMT Is Not Unconstitutionally Vague; Holds “Communicating with Minor for Immoral Purposes” Is Categorically CIMT
The court denied the petition for review and held that “crime involving moral turpitude” is not unconstitutionally vague and that per precedent that all conduct prohibited under RCW §9.68A.090 is a CIMT. (Islas-Veloz v. Whitaker, 2/4/19)
CA4 Remands to BIA to Apply Proper De Novo Standard of Review to Determine Whether IJ Erred in CAT Government Acquiescence Finding
The court held IJ’s determination regarding government acquiescence is mixed question of law and fact and public officials’ actions is question of fact while whether those actions qualify as acquiescence is legal determination, triggering de novo review. (Cruz-Quintanilla v. Whitaker, 2/1/19)
AILA Members’ Letter to the Editor Template on the Immigration Court “Fake Date” Fiasco
We encourage AILA members to personalize and submit this Letter to the Editor on how “fake date” NTAs issued by the government are just the latest example of why we need an independent immigration court. Please email newsroom@aila.org with any questions or to share your success.