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
EOIR Launches Electronic Filing Pilot Program
EOIR launched an electronic filing pilot program at the San Diego Immigration Court, in the first phase of the EOIR Courts & Appeals System (ECAS) initiative. The program is available on a voluntary basis and over the next few months, will expand to additional immigration courts and the BIA.
EOIR Provides Information on ECAS Electronic Filing Program
EOIR provided information on the EOIR Courts & Appeals System (ECAS) electronic filing initiative, including a timeline of the pilot program, descriptions of ECAS and its components, and ECAS-related resources for attorneys and accredited representatives who practice in immigration courts.
BIA Reverses Denial of Motion to Change Venue from Atlanta
Unpublished BIA decision grants interlocutory appeals and reverses denial of motion to change venue from Atlanta to Arlington given that respondent and her attorney lived in Virginia. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Irene, 7/19/18)
CA9 Says Petitioner’s Removal Proceedings Must Be Terminated Where Petitioner Was Arrested Based Solely on His Latino Ethnicity
The court held that because Coast Guard officers committed a Fourth Amendment violation by seizing the petitioner based on his Latino ethnicity alone, the IJ erred in failing to suppress the Form I-213. Note this decision was withdrawn on 7/18/18. (Sanchez v. Sessions, 8/30/17)
BIA Holds New York Third Degree Burglary Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds that third degree burglary under N.Y.P.L. 140.20 is not an aggravated felony burglary offense because it prohibits breaking into places other than buildings and structures. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of M-K-A-, 7/18/18)
FOIA Reveals EOIR’s Immigration Court Organizational Structure Staffing Implementation Plan
AILA obtained via FOIA EOIR’s Immigration Court Organizational Structure Staffing Implementation Plan, dated July 18, 2018.
AILA Policy Brief: New USCIS Notice to Appear Guidance
AILA issued a policy brief explaining the June 28, 2018, USCIS NTA guidance and the harsh impact it will have on workers, students, families, and other affected populations. In addition, the brief details the operational and procedural issues that make this new NTA policy unacceptable.
AILA Insight: Is Parole for Arriving Immigrants Over?
AILA member Matthew Boles discusses parole for immigrants.
W.D. Wash. Grants Summary Judgment for Noncitizen’s APA Claim, Reinstates LPR Status Until Removal Proceedings Are Complete
The court held that revocation of green card/LPR status as void ab initio outside of INA’s five-year rescission period without a hearing was a due process violation and an agency action “not in accordance with law”; ordered status reinstated until hearing complete. (Lai v. U.S., 7/17/18)
CA9 Holds CIMT Not Void for Vagueness
The court remains bound by precedent that CIMT not void for vagueness, despite interpretations of residual clauses of “crime of violence” as vague; holds Boutilier does not foreclose analysis on void-for-vagueness claims in immigration context. (Martinez-de Ryan v. Sessions, 7/17/18)
Applying De Novo Review, CA1 Rejects BIA Ruling that IJ’s Findings Were Clearly Erroneous
The court remanded, finding that the BIA erred by treating as one element the Mexican government’s unwillingness or inability to protect asylum applicant from persecution. The BIA also erred, the court ruled, by discounting country condition reports. (Rosales Justo v. Sessions, 7/16/18)
Pereira v. Sessions: Challenging the Validity of Notices to Appear Lacking Time-and-Place Information
The National Immigration Project and the Immigrant Defense Project provides an updated practice advisory on how to use Pereira v. Sessions to overcome the stop-time rule and more broadly, to challenge immigration court jurisdiction where a NTA lacks time-and-place information.
EOIR Provides User Manual for Expanded Electronic Filing Pilot
EOIR provided a user manual on its expanded electronic filing pilot that explains the procedures for participation. Participation in the pilot program is on a voluntary basis, and pilot participants must adhere to the procedures in this manual, effective July 16, 2018.
Flow Chart Illustrating the UAC Reunification Process
DHS and HHS provided a flow chart demonstrating the UAC reunification process, released as part of the Ms. L. v. ICE litigation.
District Court Rules Government Must Address Children’s PTSD Brought on by Family Separation
A district court judge ruled that the constitutional rights of two immigrant children, separated at the border from their parents, were violated. The government was ordered to produce the parents and a plan for addressing the children’s PTSD. (J.S.R. v. Sessions, 7/13/18)
CBP Warns Migrants of Telephonic Scams
CBP warned migrants about telephone scams in which an individual poses as an authority figure from DHS agencies like ICE and Border Patrol, or as a consular officer or shelter administrator, and requests money be wired to resolve some aspect of a family member’s immigration case.
Former Immigration Judge Jeffrey Chase on Matter of A-B- Being Misapplied by EOIR and DHS
In a July 13, 2018, blog post, former IJ Jeffrey Chase discusses the misapplication of Matter of A-B- by the BIA, USCIS, and ICE, a month after AG Jeff Sessions issued the decision.
CREEC’s Guide on Rights of Immigration Detainees with Disabilities
Civil Rights Education And Enforcement Center (CREEC) issued a comprehensive guide to be used as a resource for identifying appropriate accommodations and modifications for detention centers currently holding detainees with disabilities.
CA7 Holds Denial of an Affirmative Asylum Request Is Not Final for Purposes of Judicial Review Under the APA
The court held that although its review was not jurisdictionally barred, it could not review an affirmative asylum denial on the merits because the denial was not administratively final since petitioner had TPS and was not yet in removal proceedings. (Dhakal v. Sessions, 7/13/18)
DOJ Final Rule Delegating Authority Concerning International Prisoner Transfer Program
DOJ final rule effective 7/13/18 delegating authority concerning the International Prisoner Transfer Program. Responsibility for international prison transfers is moving from the Office of Enforcement Operations to the Office of International Affairs. (83 FR 32579, 7/13/18)
Senator Feinstein Statement: Trump Administration Unilateral Rewrite of Asylum Law
On 7/12/18, Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) released a statement in respond to the administration issuing a 7/11/18 policy memorandum that impacts U.S. asylum law.
DHS Instruction to Asylum Officers Violates U.S. and International Law
Late on July 11, 2018, USCIS and ICE issued guidance redefining core principles of America’s asylum laws which will have far-reaching implications for asylum seekers, refugees, and others.
AILA Quicktake #246: USCIS and ICE Memos on Asylum
Greg Chen, AILA's Director of Government Relations, discusses the implications of the two memos issued by USCIS and ICE regarding asylum and refugee claims.
BIA Reopens Sua Sponte Due to Publicity Surrounding Asylum Claim
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte in light of prominent nature of asylum claim in both the United States and Ghana. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ibrahim, 7/12/18)
BIA Holds Sexually Motivated Coercion in Nevada Not a Crime of Violence
Unpublished BIA decision holds that sexually motivated coercion under Nev. Rev. Stat. 207.190 is not a crime of violence under 18 USC §16(a) because physical force under Nevada law can include nonviolent de minimis force. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Rodriguez-Figueroa, 7/12/18)