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
BIA Orders Further Consideration of Continuance for Detained Respondent Seeking U Visa
Unpublished BIA decision remands for further consideration of request for continuance pending adjudication of U visa application, stating that backlog and respondent being detained are not valid reasons to deny continuance. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Alvarado-Turcio, 5/22/18)
BIA Finds Wisconsin Prostitution Statute Is Categorically an Aggravated Felony
The BIA reinstated removal proceedings, after finding that INA §101(a)(43)(K)(i) encompassed offenses related to the operation of a business that involves engaged in, or agreeing or offering to engage in, sexual conduct for anything of value. Matter of Ding, 27 I&N Dec. 295 (BIA 2018)
CA7 Not Impressed with Petitioner’s Ineffective Assistance and Changed Conditions Claims
The court denied the petition for review, finding the petitioner failed to show prejudice from any attorney error or to present any new material evidence of changed country conditions. (Ramos-Braga v. Sessions, 5/21/18, amended 8/14/18)
District Court Rules Government Must Prove Flight Risk
Granting habeas petition, the district court held that constitution requires placing burden of proof on government in a INA §236(a) custody redetermination hearings. (Pensamiento v. McDonald, 5/21/18)
BIA Reopens and Terminates Proceedings Sua Sponte in Light of Second Circuit Decision
Unpublished BIA decision reopens and terminates proceedings sua sponte upon finding respondent with controlled substance convictions no longer deportable under intervening decision in Harbin v. Sessions, 860 F.3d 58 (2nd Cir. 2017). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Abreu, 5/21/18)
BIA Grants Adjustment Application for Respondent with Multiple Arrests for Domestic Violence
Unpublished BIA decision reverses discretionary denial of adjustment for applicant with two arrests for domestic violence because neither resulted in conviction and he otherwise possessed significant equities. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ramirez-Ortega, 5/21/18)
Retired IJs and Former Members of the BIA Express Disappointment in AG’s Decision in Matter of Castro-Tum
On May 18, 2018, retired immigration judges (IJs) and former members of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued a statement expressing their disappointment in the Attorney General’s decision in Matter of Castro-Tum.
Fighting for My Client Before the BIA – A Preview
AILA Board of Governors member Stephen Manning shares a preview of a case he is arguing before the Board of Immigration Appeals today, writing that “The BIA can and must get this right. My client's fate, and the fate of his family, hinges on the decision.“
AG’s Latest Move Further Erodes the Independence of Immigration Judges
The AG announced that immigration judges and members of the BIA may no longer “administratively close” cases, except cases that meet very narrow criteria, eliminating a critical docket management tool and effectively ensuring that the courts will remain encumbered with massive backlogs.
Attorney General Holds IJs and the BIA Have No General Authority for Administrative Closure
In a case he had previously referred to himself for review, the attorney general held that IJs and the BIA have no general authority for administrative closure. Matter of Castro-Tum, 27 I&N Dec. 271 (A.G. 2018)
ICE Has Missed Two Detention Reporting Deadlines Set by Congress in March
AILA joined other organizations calling on congressional appropriators to hold ICE accountable for violations of congressionally imposed transparency obligations in the ever-expanding immigration detention system.
TRAC Finds ICE Deportations Dropped by Almost Half Over Past Five Years
TRAC released a report on ICE deportations, updated through October 2017, finding that deportation levels have dropped by almost half since October 2012. TRAC also provided updated web tools on ICE deportation data including a breakdown on convictions and number of ICE deportations.
Attorney General Jeff Session Issues Opinion in the Matter of Castro-Tum
Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued an opinion in the Matter of Castro-Tum. DOJ issued a fact sheet with background information, key excerpts from the opinion, and additional information.
CA11 Vacates Its Sopo Decision Regarding Prolonged Detention
Upon government’s unopposed motion, court vacated its June 2016 decision as moot. (Sopo v. Att'y Gen., 5/17/18)
CA8 Rules That Violation of Minn. Third Degree Sex Abuse Statute Is Aggravated Felony
Upholding BIA’s denial of asylum, the court held the law criminalizing sex with 13- to 16-year-old by someone more than two years older qualifies as aggravated felony and was properly applied to 18-year-old who had sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend. (Garcia-Urbano v. Sessions, 5/17/18)
BIA Upholds Finding that Respondent Acquired Citizenship
Unpublished BIA decision upholds finding that respondent acquired citizenship under INA §309(a) because father acknowledged paternity before she turned 18 by listing her as his daughter in affidavit of support. (Matter of Feliz-Valles, 5/17/18)
BIA Summarily Dismisses DHS Appeal for Failure to File Brief
Unpublished BIA decision summarily dismisses DHS appeal because notice to appeal didn't meaningfully apprise BIA of grounds for appeal and DHS didn't submit a separate brief in support of appeal despite indicating it would. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Moreira-Quintanilla, 5/17/18)
S. 2849: DONE Act
On 5/15/18, Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) introduced the Detention Oversight, Not Expansion Act, or the DONE Act, to prohibit the expansion of immigration detention facilities and improve the oversight of such facilities.
CA5 Holds That Texas Statute on Online Solicitation of a Minor is Overbroad in Light of Esquivel-Quintana
The court found that the Supreme Court’s decision in Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions established an age requirement that rendered the Texas statute under which the petitioner was convicted of online solicitation of a minor overbroad. (Shroff v. Sessions, 5/15/18)
CA8 Finds Petitioner’s North Dakota Conviction for Unlawful Entry into a Vehicle to Be an Aggravated Felony
The court held that the petitioner’s North Dakota conviction for unlawful entry into a vehicle was an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(U) because the unlawful entry was a substantial step toward committing a theft. (Ahmed v. Sessions, 5/15/18)
Sign-On Letter to Special Rapporteur González Morales on Violations of International Law at Immigration Detention Facilities
On 5/15/18, AILA joined 70 other human rights and immigrant’s rights organizations across the U.S. to address violations of international law at the Stewart Detention Center and the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia and to call for coordinated site visits and international condemnation.
H.R. 5820: DONE Act
On 5/15/18, Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) introduced the Detention Oversight, Not Expansion Act, or the DONE Act, to prohibit the expansion of immigration detention facilities, to improve the oversight of such facilities. This is the House companion bill of the Senate DONE Act (S. 2849).
BIA Reopens Proceedings Sua Sponte for Longtime TPS Holder to Adjust Status
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte for respondent who was granted TPS in 1999 and became the beneficiary of an approved visa petition in 2017. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Romero, 5/15/18)
BIA Reopens Proceedings for U Visa Applicant to Seek Waiver of Inadmissibility
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings for U visa applicant to seek waiver of inadmissibility in light of intervening decision in Baez-Sanchez v. Sessions, 872 F.3d 854 (7th Cir. 2017). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Moreno-Zaldivar, 5/15/18)
AILA Minutes from Joint Liaison Meeting with ICE HSI and DOJ IER (5/14/18)
Unofficial minutes from the 5/14/18 meeting between the AILA Verification and Documentation Liaison Committee, ICE HSI, and DOJ IER. Topics include fine calculations, electronic I-9s and I-9 inspections, document requests from employers, E-Verify, TPS, technical assistance letters, and more.