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
Retired IJs and Former Members of the BIA Issue Statement Against IJ Performance Quotas
On October 1, 2018, retired immigration judges (IJs) and former members of the BIA issued a statement decrying the implementation of performance quotas on immigration judges.
Ethical Questions in Representing Clients with Administratively Closed Removal Cases
Ethics issues can present themselves throughout the course of representation with administratively closed cases. Learn more about potential scenarios in this article from AILA’s PPC, including when there are unused funds in a client’s trust account and when a client disappears.
Video: AILA Calls for Immigration Court Reform
In this video, AILA Executive Director Benjamin Johnson explains the need to establish an independent immigration court system.
AILA Members Express Concern Over Efforts to Undermine Judicial Independence
Over 1,000 AILA members signed a letter expressing concern over recent administrative actions that undermine the independence and authority of immigration judges and calling for an independent, Article I immigration court system. The letter was submitted to AG Sessions and Congress on 10/1/18.
ACLU Wins Preliminary Injunction on Behalf of Noncitizen Minors Arrested Without Hearings
A district court issued a preliminary injunction ordering the government to provide noncitizen minors previously released to a sponsor who were rearrested based on allegations of gang affiliation with a hearing before an immigration judge by 11/29/17. (Saravia v. Sessions, 11/20/17)
Resources on Class Action Lawsuit Against Private Prison Contractor
Nine federal immigrant detainees filed a class action complaint (Menocal, et al. v. The Geo Group, Inc.) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado against private prison contractor, The GEO Group, alleging violations for unpaid wages and forced labor.
USCIS Statistics on Asylum Filings for Minors for FY2018
USCIS statistics for FY2018 (October 2017–September 2018) on minor principal applicants (affirmative asylum applicants under the age of 18 at time of filing) and asylum applicants of any age filing with USCIS under the initial jurisdiction provision of the TVPRA.
EOIR Released Rates of Asylum Filings in Cases Originating with a Credible Fear Claim for FY2008–FY2018
EOIR released rates of asylum filings in cases originating with a credible fear claim, broken down by those referred following a credible fear claim and those referred following a credible fear claim and filed asylum application, for FY2008–FY2018.
EOIR Released Asylum Decision Rates by Nationality for FY2018
EOIR released asylum rates broken down by nationality for FY2018, including information on asylum grants, denials, administrative closure, and more.
EOIR Released Statistics on Motions to Reopen for FY2008–FY2018
EOIR released statistics on the number of motions to reopen (MTRs) filed at immigration courts and at the BIA from FY2008 through FY2018.
EOIR Releases Representation Rates for FY2018
EOIR released statistics on representation rates for FY2018 (10/1/17–9/30/18), including rates for all cases, all UAC cases, UAC cases pending more than one year, pending asylum cases, and completed asylum cases.
EOIR Releases Data on Complaints Against Immigration Judges (FY2018)
EOIR released information on complaints against immigration judges, including complaints from FY2013-FY2018, 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.
EOIR Releases Statistics on Decision Outcomes for FY2018
EOIR released statistics on outcomes of initial case decisions for FY2018 (10/1/17–9/30/18). Statistics cover removal, deportation, and exclusion cases; asylum-only and withholding-only cases; and credible fear reviews, reasonable fear reviews, and claimed status reviews.
EOIR Released Statistics on Asylum Grant Rates by Court for FY2018
EOIR has released statistics on asylum grant rates by court for FY2018.
EOIR Releases Median Completion Times for Detained Cases
EOIR released the median completion time for detained cases for FY2008 through FY2018, broken down by non-review cases (removal, deportation, exclusion, asylum-only, and withholding-only cases) and review cases (credible fear review, reasonable fear review, and claimed status review).
EOIR Released Median Pending Times for Detained Cases
EOIR released the median pending times for detained cases (broken down by review cases and non-review cases) for FY2008 through FY2018.
EOIR Released Percentage of DHS-Detained Cases Completed Within Six Months for FY2018
EOIR released the median pending times for detained cases (broken down by review cases and non-review cases) for FY2008 through FY2018.
EOIR Released Statistics on Asylum Applicant In Absentia Removal Orders
EOIR released statistics on orders issued in absentia in removal, deportation, and exclusion cases in which the individual filed an asylum application for FY2008 through FY2018.
EOIR Released Statistics on UAC In Absentia Removal Orders
EOIR released statistics on in absentia removal orders in cases involving unaccompanied children for FY2008 through FY2018.
EOIR Released Median Pending Time and Median Completion Time for UAC Cases
EOIR released the median pending time and median completion time for unaccompanied children cases for FY2018.
EOIR Released Statistics on Current UAC Cases Pending More Than Three Years
EOIR released statistics on unaccompanied children cases pending more than three years for FY2018.
USCIS Performance Data on DACA Applications Through September 2018
USCIS provides statistics on I-821D DACA applications, broken down by intake, case status, and whether the application was an initial or renewal application for FY2012 through FY2018. The FY2018 data is broken down by quarter.
DHS OIG: Results of Unannounced Inspections of Conditions for Unaccompanied Children in CBP Custody
DHS OIG issued a report based on visits between June 26, and 28, 2018, by an OIG team to nine CBP facilities in McAllen and El Paso, Texas, including five Border Patrol stations and four OFO ports of entry. DHS OIG found that children were held longer than the 72 hours generally permitted by law.
EOIR Announces Investiture of 46 Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the investiture of 46 immigration judges, including two assistant child immigration judges. In 2017, Attorney General Sessions announced a “streamlined hiring plan”, resulting in a reduction of 74 percent in the time it takes to onboard immigration judges since then.
BIA Dismisses Appeal of Bond Decision Absent Evidence to Support Respondent’s Position
Unpublished BIA decision dismisses respondent’s appeal of IJ’s bond decision, finding respondent did not present arguments or evidence to support his position that the bond amount was set too high. (Matter of M-S-, 9/28/18)