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.
| Pre Jan 20, 2025 Status | Current Status |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Browse the Featured Issue: Representing Clients Before ICE collection
CA9 Granted Petition for Rehearing in Case on “Crime of Domestic Violence” Under INA §237(a)(2)(E)
The court granted the petitioner’s petition for panel rehearing and the opinion filed on 9/14/17, which held that Arizona Revised Statutes §13-1203(A)(1) is a crime of violence under 18 USC §16(a), was withdrawn. (Cornejo-Villagrana v. Sessions, 5/30/18)
EOIR Releases Training Materials on the One-Year Bar and One Central Reason Standard in Asylum Law
Obtained via FOIA by Hoppock Law Firm, EOIR released a 2018 Legal Training Program presentation on the one-year bar and one central reason standard in asylum law. Special thanks to Matthew Hoppock.
CA2 Holds IJ Gave Undue Weight to Asylum Seekers’ Omission of Facts
The court granted petitions for review, after finding that IJs and the BIA erred by substantially relying on the fact that applicants for asylum and related relief testified during removal proceedings to certain details not included in their initial applications. (Gao v. Sessions, 5/25/18)
USCIS Provides Data on Characteristics of DACA Requestors
In response to a 1/16/18 letter from Rep. Steve King (R-IA), USCIS provided data on characteristics of DACA requestors, including their age, education level, country of birth, and criminal history, among other characteristics.
CA8 Finds Violation of Municipal Ordinance Was “Conviction”
The court found the BIA properly denied TPS for conviction of two misdemeanors, adding that it is irrelevant whether state law classifies crimes as “infractions” or “violations,” so long as punishment imposable under state law meets definition of misdemeanor. (Rubio v. Sessions, 5/25/18)
CA7 Rejects Business Owners’ Proffered Social Group
The court denied the petitions for review finding the asylum claims were properly denied and upholding IJ reasoning regarding business owners in the Ukraine. (Melnik v. Sessions, 5/25/18)
Deporting Protected Immigrants Won’t Make America Great
AILA member Matthew Weisner describes the impact that ending Temporary Protected Status for Hondurans will have on those with TPS as well as the families, businesses, and communities that rely on them; he urges Congress to pass legislation to give long-term TPS holders a path to permanent residency.
CA4 Upheld Removability of LPR Under §237(a)(2)(A)(ii) and (iii)
The court held that the petitioner’s 1995 conviction for unlawful possession of marijuana with intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell constitutes a conviction of both an aggravated felony and a CIMT. (Guevara-Solorzano v. Sessions, 5/24/18)
CA1 Rules that BIA Erred in Failing to Analyze Past Persecution Under Childhood Standard
The court vacated the BIA’s order dismissing the petitioner’s appeal and remanded, finding that because the Ecuadorian asylum applicant was a minor at time of mistreatment, IJ and BIA should have taken a child-specific analysis. (Santos-Guaman v. Sessions, 5/23/18)
Harris, Feinstein, Colleagues Call on Sessions to Uphold Protections for LGBTQ Asylum Seekers Fleeing Persecution
On 5/23/18, U.S. Senators Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) led a group of their Senate colleagues in a letter to the Attorney General urging the DOJ to uphold Matter of A-B-, which provides protections for LGBTQ asylum seekers who are fleeing persecution.
ACLU Report on Neglect and Abuse of Unaccompanied Immigrant Children by CBP
ACLU and the University of Chicago International Human Rights Clinic issued a report based on documents from DHS’s CRCL office that alleges a series of instances of child abuse and neglect committed against unaccompanied minors held in CBP detention centers on the southern border.
CBP Response to ACLU Report on Abuses Against UACs
CBP issued a statement in response to ACLU’s report “Neglect and Abuse of Unaccompanied Immigrant Children by U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” claiming the allegations of serious child abuse and neglect against unaccompanied minors in CBP detention centers on the southern border are “unfounded.”
CA2 Holds that Petitioner With Stay of Removal Is Not Held Pursuant to INA §241
The court held that when a stay of removal has been issued by the circuit court, an immigrant is not held pursuant to INA §241 because they are not in the “removal period” contemplated by the statute until the appeal has been resolved. (Hechavarria v. Sessions, 5/16/18, amended 5/22/18)
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.