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
CRCL Issues Recommendations Memo Concerning Etowah County Jail
In 2018, CRCL investigated the conditions of detention for ICE detainees at the Etowah County Jail. Review focused on alleged civil rights and civil liberties violations. CRCL issued recommendations to medical care, mental health care, detention conditions, environmental health, and more.
DOJ Final Rule Reflecting Organizational Changes Regarding International Prisoner Transfer Program
DOJ final rule effective 9/2/18 reflecting organizational changes regarding the International Prisoner Transfer Program. (83 FR 42774, 8/24/18)
CA9 Finds Indecent Exposure Convictions Under Washington Statutes Are Not CIMTs
The court refused to apply deference because BIA failed to correctly apply its own precedent in Cortes Medina that holds indecent exposure is only CIMT when statute has element of lewd intent related to sexually-motivated behavior. (Barrera-Lima v. Sessions, 8/24/18)
BIA Reopens Removal Proceedings Sua Sponte for TPS Holder to Adjust Status
Unpublished BIA decision reopens removal proceedings sua sponte over DHS objection for respondent with TPS who is eligible to adjust status under Ramirez v. Brown, 852 F.3d 954 (9th Cir. 2017). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Mohamed, 8/24/18)
CA9 Remands, Holds Inadmissibility Grounds Inapplicable to LPR Not Seeking Admission
The court held that LPR petitioner’s admitted drug use did not render him inadmissible since, as an LPR, he did not seek admission; thus, it did not trigger the cancellation of removal stop-time rule. (Nguyen v. Sessions, 8/23/18)
Press Call on Complaint Regarding Coercive Tactics Used by Immigration Officials on Separated Parents
On a press call, representatives of AILA, the Council, the Dilley Pro Bono Project, and Annunciation House discuss a complaint filed by AILA and the Council with DHS’s OIG and CRCL regarding coercive tactics used by government officials against parents who were separated from their children.
The Use of Coercion by U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Officials Against Parents Who Were Forcibly Separated From Their Children
AILA and the Council announced the filing of a complaint with the DHS Office of the Inspector General and Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties on the pervasive and illegal practice by DHS officials of coercing separated mothers and fathers into signing documents they may not have understood.
Complaint Details Coercive Tactics Used by Immigration Officials on Separated Parents
AILA and the Council filed a complaint with the DHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) documenting a pervasive, illegal practice by DHS officials of coercing separated mothers and fathers into signing documents they may not have understood.
AILA and Council File Complaint Regarding Coercive Tactics Used by Immigration Officials on Separated Parents
Resources on the AILA and American Immigration Council complaint, filed with the DHS OIG and CRCL regarding a pervasive and illegal practice by DHS officials of coercing parents into signing documents, ostensibly waiving their legal rights, including their right to be reunified with their children.
BIA Faults IJ for Not Explaining Difference Between Pre- and Post-Conclusion Voluntary Departure
Unpublished BIA decision remands because IJ failed to explain difference between pre- and post-conclusion voluntary departure and granted pre-conclusion voluntary departure without asking whether respondent wished to waive appeal. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Lozano-Fernandez, 8/23/18)
BIA Holds Arizona Drug Schedule Overbroad and Not Divisible
Unpublished BIA decision holds possession of narcotics for sale under Ariz. Rev. Stat. §13-3408(A)(2) not an aggravated felony because the state schedule includes several substances not on federal schedule and the statute is not divisible. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Albano, 8/23/18)
HHS Notice of Intent to Fund 850 Additional Beds to Keep Unaccompanied Children in Custody
HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) notice of intent to provide $28,003,926 of funding for 850 beds to keep unaccompanied children in custody. (83 FR 42505, 8/22/18)
CA9 Upholds BIA Removal Findings, Confirming Aggravated Felony, Inapplicability of Expungement, Ineligibility for §212(c) Waiver, and CAT Denial
The court held conviction under CA statute for possession to sell cocaine salt was an aggravated felony under the modified categorical approach, and that the conviction withstood expungement for immigration purposes. (Robles Lopez v. Sessions, 8/22/18)
EOIR Releases Data on Complaints Against Immigration Judges (FY2015)
EOIR released information on complaints against immigration judges, including number/percentage of IJs against whom complaints were received between FY2011 and FY2015, as well as the nature of complaints opened, sources of complaints, and methods of disposition for complaints closed during FY2015.
CA7 Remands, Cites Multiple IJ/BIA Errors Regarding Particular Social Group Determinations
The court overturned IJ/BIA, finding petitioner’s membership in cognizable social group, “members of his nuclear family”—referring to family of Mara 18 forced recruit who fled—was one central reason for harm; nexus requirement for asylum and withholding was met. (W.G.A v. Sessions, 8/21/18)
DOJ Announces Removal to Germany of Former Nazi Labor Camp Guard
DOJ announced that in coordination with DHS and DOS, Jakiw Palij, a former Nazi labor camp guard in German-occupied Poland, was removed to Germany. Palij had become a U.S. citizen in 1957 and resided in Queens, New York. His citizenship was revoked in 2003, and he was ordered removed in 2004.
CA6 Denies Respondent’s Petition for Review and Is Thus Removable
The court held that the BIA properly applied Pennsylvania case law to determine the divisibility of the state statute of conviction, and properly applied the modified categorical approach to conclude it qualified under INA §212(a)(2)(A). (Raja v. Sessions, 8/21/18)
CA7 Remands, Finding BIA Erred in Disagreeing with Expert Opinion in CAT Removal Determination
The court found that the BIA did not offer any reasonable basis for disagreeing with expert opinion corroborating petitioner’s fear of torture from Los Zetas for losing hundreds of thousands of dollars of contraband, if removed to Mexico. (Rivas-Pena v. Sessions, 8/21/18)
Bivens Basics: An Introductory Guide for Immigration Attorneys
With constitutional violations by DHS officers on the rise, learn the basics of how to litigate a Bivens claim in federal court in the immigration context in this Practice Advisory from the American Immigration Council.
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order After Hearing Notice Sent to Attorney Who Did Not Enter Appearance
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order because the hearing notice was sent to an attorney who did not submit an entry of appearance with the immigration court. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Phung, 8/21/18)
President Trump Delivers Letter to State and Local Leaders About ICE and CBP
President Trump delivered a letter to state and local leaders in the United States urging them to support and work with ICE and CBP.
AILA Submits Amicus Brief on Tenth Circuit’s Ruling on Various Forms of Relief from Removal
AILA submitted an amicus brief, filed with the Tenth Circuit, summarizing the implications of the Tenth Circuit’s ruling on removal relief.
AILA Quicktake #249: Attorney General’s Decision in Matter of L-A-B-R-
Greg Chen, AILA's Director of Government Relations, discusses the Attorney General’s decision in Matter of L-A-B-R-, which limits the discretion of the immigration judges to grant continuances.
DHS Issues Press Release About ICE’s Mission
DHS issued a press release about the mission of ICE and its various components.
BIA Holds Pennsylvania Simple Assault Not a Crime of Violence or CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that simple assault under 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. §2701(a)(1) is not divisible and thus not a crime of violence or CIMT. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Perez-Herrera, 8/20/18)