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 Rescinds In Absentia Order Due to Conflicting Addresses
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order based on lack of notice because address on hearing notice conflicted with address provided by ICE on Form I-830 when respondent was released from custody. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Mejia-Guales, 4/25/18)
CA8 Finds Asylum Petitioner Did Not Meet Burden to Show Membership in a Particular Social Group
The court denied the petition for review, finding that the Guatemalan petitioner challenging the IJ’s and the BIA’s denial of asylum did not meet his burden to show membership in a particular social group. (Mayorga-Rosa v. Sessions, 4/24/18)
AILA Report: Cogs in the Deportation Machine
AILA provides a report that surveys policy changes to immigration enforcement made by the Trump administration. Taken together, the reforms constitute a system-wide escalation of the federal government’s authority and capacity to apprehend, detain, and deport noncitizens.
EOIR Swears in an Immigration Judge
EOIR announced the investiture of a new immigration judge, Raphael Choi, to the Arlington Immigration Court. Notice includes biographical information on Judge Raphael Choi.
Policy Brief: Recommendations from Independent Study of Immigration Courts Contradict DOJ Policy Changes
AILA and the American Immigration Council issued a policy brief highlighting major findings of the year-long case study by Booz, Allen, Hamilton on the U.S. immigration court system. Document also includes policy changes made by the current administration that contradict those recommendations.
DOJ Ignores Set of Recommendations to Strengthen Immigration Court System Efficiency and Effectiveness
In response to a FOIA request, AILA and the American Immigration Council received a partially redacted report written by Booz Allen Hamilton and commissioned by EOIR which offers recommendations to ensure efficient proceedings and due process. The administration, however, has done the opposite.
FOIA Response Highlights Importance of Independent Judges, Court Reform
On 2/16/18, AILA and the American Immigration Council received a response to an EOIR FOIA request. The response includes EOIR’s labor agreement with the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ), updated articles on performance appraisals, and an MOU on NAIJ written and verbal disclaimers.
DHS Releases Memo on Increasing Prosecutions of Immigration Violations
Government watchdog groups released a redacted memo that they argue indicates DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen approved the Trump administration’s policy to prosecute all undocumented immigrants apprehended crossing the U.S.-Mexico border that would result in separating parents from their children.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill Heard from AILA Loud and Clear, but there is More to Do!
AILA Associate Director of Government Relations Diane Rish reflects on AILA's National Day of Action and shares how AILA members and the public can continue making their voices heard on important immigration law and policy issues that matter to them.
BIA Finds § 646.9 of the California Penal Code Is Not “Crime of Stalking”
The BIA sustained the appeal and ruled that the offense of stalking in violation of §646.9 of the California Penal Code is not “a crime of stalking” under INA §237(a)(2)(E)(i). Matter of Sanchez-Lopez, 27 I&N Dec. 256 (BIA 2018)
TRAC Finds Immigration Court Cases Now Involve More Long-Time Residents
TRAC found a sharp uptick in the proportion of cases involving immigrants who have been living in the U.S. for years. During March 2018, 43% of immigrants with new cases had arrived two or more years ago, compared December 2016, where only 6% had been here at least two years.
House Democrats Demand that the DOJ Reinstate the LOP and ICH Programs
On 4/19/18, 105 House Democrats wrote a letter to Attorney General Sessions regarding the termination of the Legal Orientation Program (LOP) and the Immigration Help Desk Program (ICH). They note that the DOJ has contradicted the express direction of Congress and undermined due process.
CA11 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Petitioner Who Supported Gay Rights in Cameroon
The court denied the petition for review, holding that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s findings that the petitioner did not experience past persecution and did not have a well-founded fear of future persecution. (Sama v. Attorney General, 4/19/18)
Featured Issue: FY2018 Appropriations
Resources on the House DHS funding bill for FY2018 that seeks to dramatically increase immigration enforcement and border security, including ways you can push back on this bill.
BIA Holds that a Sentence of 12 Months in Texas Is Less Than One Year
Unpublished BIA decision holds that respondent was not convicted of an aggravated felony based on sentence to 12 months of confinement because Texas defines a month as 30 days when calculating terms of imprisonment. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Castillo Munoz, 4/19/18)
BIA Holds Entry Using Fraudulent Documents Qualifies as an “Admission”
Unpublished BIA decision holds that fraudulently entering the country using another person’s documents qualifies as an “admission” requiring charges under INA 237 rather than INA 212. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Popocatl-Jimenez, 4/19/18)
S. 2693: Immigration Court Improvement Act of 2018
On 4/18/18, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Kamala Harris (D-CA) introduced the Immigration Court Improvement Action of 2018 (S. 2693) to insulate immigration judges from improper political interference or manipulation.
GAO Issued Testimony for Senate Subcommittee on Immigration Courts
The GAO issued testimony for the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration hearing on immigration courts with scenarios for restructuring EOIR’s immigration court system and how EOIR manages and oversees the immigration courts, including hiring and performance assessment.
Senate Democrats Demand that the DOJ Reinstate the LOP and ICH Programs
On 4/18/18, 22 Senate Democrats wrote a letter to Attorney General Sessions regarding the termination of the Legal Orientation Program (LOP) and the Immigration Help Desk Program (ICH). They note that the decision undermines due process protections for immigrants who cannot afford an attorney.
AILA Statement on Strengthening and Reforming America’s Immigration Court System Hearing
On 4/18/18, AILA submitted a statement to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration urging that Congress create an independent immigration court system in the form of an Article I court and monitor EOIR practices to ensure individuals the right to a full and fair hearing.
Retired IJs and Former BIA Members Issues Statement on Strengthening and Reforming America’s Immigration Court System
On 4/18/18, 18 retired immigration judges (IJs) and former members of the BIA submitted a statement to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration, stating that the immigration court system is in crisis and asking Congress to remove the immigration court system from the DOJ.
Immigration Law Professors Issue Statement on Strengthening and Reforming America’s Immigration Court System
On 4/18/18, 38 immigration law professors submitted a statement to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration calling on Congress to create an independent immigration court and to defend the court against the DOJ’s attempts to erode due process.
Supreme Court Rules That Language Defining "Crime of Violence" Is Unconstitutionally Vague
The Supreme Court affirmed the Ninth Circuit’s judgment that the language in 18 USC §16(b), as incorporated into the INA, that defines a "crime of violence" is unconstitutionally vague. (Sessions v. Dimaya, 4/17/18)
Senate and House Judiciary Democrats Condemn DOJ for Undermining Due Process
On 4/17/18, all Democratic members of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees wrote a letter to the Attorney General expressing their opposition to DOJ’s recent termination of the Legal Orientation Program and the imposition of numeric case quotas for immigration judges.
House Democrats Demand DOJ Respond to Allegations of Politicization in the EOIR Hiring Process
On 4/17/18, four House Democrats wrote a letter to Attorney General Sessions regarding allegations that the DOJ may be violating federal law by blocking the hiring of much needed immigration judges based on ideological and political considerations.