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
CA9 Denies in Part, Affirming No Equal Protection or Due Process Violations in Rejection of Citizenship Claim; Grants in Part, Remanding for Cancellat
The court held §1433 does not implicate a protected class and disparate treatment of citizen parents of adopted foreign-born children (proactive petition for citizenship) is rationally related to legitimate governmental interest; thus, no EP violation. (Dent v. Sessions, 8/17/18)
Trump Administration Further Undermines Judicial Independence
AILA responds to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision in Matter of L-A-B-R-, which limits the discretion of immigration judges to grant continuances.
Retired IJs and Former Members of the BIA Issue Statement in Response to Matter of L-A-B-R-
On August 17, 2018, retired immigration judges (IJs) and former members of the BIA issued a statement in response to the Attorney General’s decision in Matter of L-A-B-R-. The statement characterizes the decision as a “blow to judicial independence.”
BIA Holds Making False Statement to Firearms Dealer Not a Firearms Offense
Unpublished BIA decision holds that making false statement to firearms dealer under 18 USC §924(a)(1)(A) is a not a firearms offense because it applies to dealers who falsify their own records. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Lopez, 8/17/18)
Attorney General States IJs May Only Grant Continuances “For Good Cause Shown”
The Attorney General (AG) found that an IJ may only grant a continuance “for good cause shown” and outlined the good-cause standard. Further, the AG vacated the Board’s orders declining to entertain these appeals and remanded. Matter of L-A-B-R-, et al., 27 I&N Dec. 405 (A.G. 2018)
EOIR Announces Reduction of Hiring Times By More Than 50 Percent
EOIR announced the investiture of 23 new immigration judges, which increased the total number of immigration judges to 351. Some of the immigration judges sworn-in were hired in approximately 266 days, down from an average of 742 days just one year ago.
Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of Parents Who Waived Right of Their Children to Pursue Asylum Claims
The court held plaintiffs likely to succeed on mandamus claim for independent right to seek asylum; that parents did not knowingly waive minor’s asylum rights; and plaintiffs met irreparable injury, balance of equities, and public interest requirements for TRO. (M.M.M. v. Sessions, 8/16/18)
EOIR Swears in 23 Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the investiture of 23 immigration judges and provided biographies of these new immigration judges.
Bipartisan Senate Report on UACs Finds Agencies Haven’t Taken Sufficient Responsibility
The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations issued a report, finding that HHS and DHS have taken steps towards improving the care of UACs, but that they “still do not take sufficient responsibility for guarding their safety and ensuring they appear at their immigration court proceedings.”
CA1 Vacates BIA Denial of MTR for Failure to Consider Changed Country Conditions
The court held that the BIA abused its discretion by failing to consider petitioner’s new material evidence regarding treatment of evangelical Christians in Indonesia since 2008; it vacated the denial and remanded the case. (Sihotang v. Sessions, 8/15/18)
HHS Notice of Intent to Fund 700 Additional Beds to Keep Unaccompanied Children in Custody
HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) notice of intent to provide up to $19,011,218 of funding for 700 beds to keep unaccompanied children in custody. (83 FR 40519, 8/15/18)
CA8 Denies Jurisdiction to Review Changed Circumstances Based Claim for Late Asylum Filing
The court held that the IJ/BIA determination of lack of changed circumstances was a finding of fact, not a statutory interpretation; thus, there was no question of law to trigger its jurisdiction to review untimely asylum application. (Burka v. Sessions, 8/14/18)
CA9 Holds Bivens Damages Can Apply for Fifth Amendment Procedural Due Process Violation Arising in Immigration Context
The court held a Bivens remedy applies when ICE prosecutor forged an I-826 voluntary departure document that broke continuous presence, which precluded petitioner from receiving cancellation for which he otherwise qualified, violating his due process rights. (Lanuza v. Love, 8/14/18)
CA1 Affirms BIA Denial of MTR, Dismisses Challenge to BIA’s Sua Sponte Denial
The court affirmed that potential LPR eligibility is not an exceptional circumstance that can overcome time/number bars on MTRs, and it denied jurisdiction to review the BIA’s sua sponte denial to reopen. (Lemus v. Sessions, 8/14/18)
U.S. Senators Demand DHS Reunify All Separated Families
On 8/14/18, seventeen democratic U.S. senators led by Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) signed a letter to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen demanding the reunification of all families separated at the southern border because of the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy.
Law Scholars Issue Letter Denouncing Quotas for Immigration Judges
On 8/14/18, over 120 immigration and administrative law scholars penned a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions denouncing DOJ’s plan to impose case completion quotas to measure immigration judges’ performance, as it would undermine the independence of the immigration courts.
BIA Holds Texas Online Solicitation of a Minor Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds that online solicitation of a minor under Tex. Penal Code 33.021 is not aggravated felony sexual abuse of a minor or attempted sexual abuse of a minor because it does not require a victim under 16 years of age. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Adeeko, 8/14/18)
CA2 Settles Question of First Impression, Holding that Petitioner Acquired Citizenship at Birth from USC Parent Despite Lack of Blood Relationship
The court terminated proceedings, holding that non-biologically–related USC father was petitioner’s “parent” for purposes of acquired citizenship under former INA §301(a)(7), because child was born into a lawful marriage as understood by common law. (Jaen v. Sessions, 8/13/18)
CA8 Affirms Denial, Agrees No Changed Country Conditions Exist that Would Remedy Untimely Filing
The court denied jurisdiction to review asylum denial for untimeliness, agreeing that IJ did not err in determining no exceptional circumstance was met; it also held evidence of political violence submitted to BIA was properly deemed immaterial. (Degbe v. Sessions, 8/13/18)
CA9 Holds BIA Erred in Denying Cancellation Based on Incorrect Application of Categorical and Modified Categorical Approaches for CIMT
The court held BIA erred in concluding OR witness tampering statute was categorically CIMT and that statute was not divisible; under modified categorical approach, court found statute was divisible and applicable subsection also not categorically CIMT. (Vasquez-Valle v. Sessions, 8/10/18)
CA8 Holds BIA Failed to Address Merits of MTR for Asylum, Remands for Determination in the First Instance
The court concluded the BIA abused its discretion by not considering the medical “exceptional circumstance” claim for missing asylum hearing; also, BIA did not explicitly rule on whether petitioner’s specific departure was abandonment of asylum application. (Payeras v. Sessions, 8/9/18)
CLINIC Fact Sheet: Family Separation for Asylum Seekers
In April 2018, the Trump administration began a “Zero Tolerance” policy that led to DHS separating asylum-seeking parents from their children. This fact sheet explains how the Trump administration carried out family separation and the federal court ruling in Ms. L v. ICE.
AILA Quicktake #248: NAIJ Files a Formal Grievance Against EOIR and DOJ
Jeremy McKinney, AILA Treasurer, discusses Matter of Castro-Tum and how it has led to a formal grievance filed by the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ) against EOIR and DOJ.
Immigration Judges Spotlight DOJ Hijacking of Court Independence
Today, NAIJ accused EOIR of violating the Constitution, federal statute and the NAIJ’s union contract by stripping cases away from a judge; Jeremy McKinney, AILA Treasurer noted the grievance “puts the spotlight on how fundamentally compromised our immigration court system has become.”
Judges’ Union Files Grievance Over DOJ’s Interference with Judicial Independence and Violation of the Due Process Rights
The National Association of Immigration Judges, the union representing the nation’s roughly 350 federal Immigration Judges, filed a formal grievance seeking redress for the unwarranted removal of cases from the docket of a Philadelphia-based judge, United States Immigration Judge Steven A. Morley.