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
Sign-On Letter Requesting Transparency and Accountability for Immigration Detention
On 4/5/18, AILA joined nine organizations in a letter to Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Thomas Homan, Acting Director of ICE, requesting that they bear accountability for the ongoing mismanagement of the detention system and comply with the limitations on agency spending.
Southern Poverty Law Center Files Suit Challenging Lack of Access to Counsel in Immigration Detention Centers
The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a lawsuit in federal district court challenging immigration detainees’ lack of access to counsel in the LaSalle, Irwin, and Stewart detention centers. (SPLC v. DHS, 4/4/18)
KIND Opposes New Case Completion Quotas for Immigration Judges
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) issued a statement, opposing the new metrics for immigration judges linking their annual performance reviews to the number of cases they complete in a fiscal year, highlighting grave consequences for due process for children fleeing violence and abuse.
Retired Immigration Judge and Former Chairman of the BIA Responds to Implementation of Production Quotas
Retired Immigration Judge and former Chairman of the BIA posted a blog post in response to the news that immigration judges will be subject to quotas as part of their performance evaluations, stating that it is “toxic” and will “compromise due process in the immigration court system.”
DOJ Strips Immigration Courts of Independence
In a joint statement, AILA and the American Immigration Council responded to the imposition of strict quotas as part of immigration judges’ performance evaluations, a shift that strips away the independence held by judges who are making high stakes decisions about whether a person will be deported.
CA8 Denies Petition for Review of Denial of Asylum to Guatemalan Survivor of Gender-Based Violence
The court denied the petition for review of the denial of asylum, finding that the harm inflicted on the petitioner by her husband and by a neighbor did not rise to the level of persecution and that she failed to establish a fear of future persecution. (Lopez v. Sessions, 4/3/18)
NAIJ “Strenuously Opposes” Proposed Quotas and Completion Deadlines Announced by DOJ
Federal immigration judges, represented by the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ), expressed shock and dismay at EOIR’s announcement that it intends to implement production quotas and case completion deadlines to Immigration Judge performance evaluations.
Human Rights First Condemned Decision to Impose Quotas on Immigration Judges
Human Rights First condemned a decision by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to impose caseload quotas on immigration judges, a move that threatens due process and fairness in the asylum and immigration systems.
NIJC States AG Sessions Hijacks U.S. Justice System To Hurt Immigrants
The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) released a statement on the announcement of immigration judge quotas being implemented by DOJ, explaining that the new requirement for immigration judges to complete 700 cases per year is both unrealistic and dangerous.
Letter to ICE Regarding Impact of Detention on Pregnant Women and Adolescents
The Mount Sinai Program in Human Rights in New York City sent a letter to ICE stating that the psychological factors of detaining pregnant women and adolescents can add to the obstetric risks, stating that there is emerging research on the effect of maternal stress on unborn children.
John Oliver on Immigration Courts
HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” aired a comedic yet powerful segment on injustices in U.S. immigration courts. Several AILA members were consulted about the piece and helped shape it.
Recent Decisions from 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and District Court Decisions (April 2018)
Summary of recent case law out of the Eleventh Circuit, courtesy of the AILA Georgia-Alabama, Central Florida, and South Florida Chapters. The information was compiled in April 2018 and should be used as a starting point in research.
GAO Issued Report on Opportunities to Improve Cost Estimates in Immigration Detention
The GAO issued a report examining how ICE formulates its budget request for detention resources, how ICE develops bed rates and determines ADP for use in its budget process, and to what extent ICE’s methods for estimating detention costs follow best practices.
USCIS Provides Data on Active DACA Recipients as of March 31, 2018
USCIS provided data on active DACA recipients as of March 31, 2018, by country of birth, by state or territory of residence, by core based statistical area, by gender, by age, and by marital status.
USCIS Provides Data on Pending DACA Applications as of March 31, 2018
USCIS provided data on the approximate number of DACA renewals pending with expired DACA and the approximate number of DACA initial applications pending, as of March 31, 2018.
USCIS Provides Approximate Number of Active DACA Recipients as of March 31, 2018
USCIS provided data on the approximate number of active DACA recipients, broken by month and year of their current DACA expiration date, as of March 31, 2018.
EOIR Released FY2018 Statistics on UAC Cases Pending More than Three Years
EOIR released statistics on current unaccompanied children cases that have been pending more than three years from FY2008 through FY2018. As of 3/31/18, the median non-detained days pending was 8,378. This includes UACs that were never detained and those released from detention.
CA11 Finds Florida Conviction for Sale of Cocaine to Be an “Illicit Trafficking” Aggravated Felony
The court held that the BIA did not err in concluding that the petitioner was ineligible for cancellation of removal because his Florida conviction for sale of cocaine constituted illicit trafficking within the meaning of INA §101(a)(43)(B). (Choizilme v. Attorney General, 3/30/18)
EOIR Issues Guidance Implementing Immigration Judge Performance Metrics
EOIR issued guidance outlining performance metrics for immigration judges (IJs), to be implemented on 10/1/18. Metrics will be added to the IJ Performance Work Plan and in addition to other requirements, IJs will need to complete 700 cases per year, to earn a satisfactory rating.
Attorney General Issues Updates in Matter of A-B-
The Attorney General denied DHS’s request that he suspend the briefing schedules and clarify the question presented, and he granted, in part, both parties’ request for an extension of the deadline for submitting briefs in this case. Matter of A-B-, 27 I&N Dec. 247 (A.G. 2018)
Class Action Suit in California Challenges Prolonged Detention Under INA §241(a)(6) Without Bond Hearings
Plaintiffs filed a class action suit in federal district court on behalf of all individuals in the Ninth Circuit detained pursuant to INA §241(a)(6) for at least six months without a bond hearing. (Aleman Gonzalez v. Sessions, 3/27/18)
Letter from Medical Professionals to ICE Against Inhumane Detention Policies for Pregnant Women
The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Academy of Family Physicians sent a letter to ICE expressing serious concerns about the change in policy of presumptive release of pregnant women from immigration detention facilities.
TRAC Report Outlines Where Immigrants Are Being Detained
TRAC released a report, outlining where immigrants with immigration court cases are being detained. Nearly two thirds of the immigrants who have been detained during immigration court proceedings were housed in just twenty-five counties, with ten counties in Texas and California at the top.
ICE Formalizes Inhumane Detention Policies for Pregnant Women
In a joint statement with the American Immigration Council, AILA responds to a recently released ICE directive that formalizes the agency’s practice of detaining pregnant women.
ICE Provides FAQs on Identification and Monitoring of Pregnant Detainees
ICE released FAQs on its policy change regarding detaining pregnant individuals, stating that it has ended the presumption of release for all pregnant detainees. FAQs discuss the previous policy, if detaining pregnant women is a human rights abuse, and pregnant women claiming asylum.