Featured Issues

Featured Issue: Representing Clients Before ICE

2/3/25 AILA Doc. No. 25010904. Removal & Relief

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.

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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.

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An unpublished ICE memo from acting ICE Director Caleb Vitello entitled “Interim Guidance: Civil Immigration Enforcement Actions in or near Courthouses” makes reference to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

Filing Administrative Complaints on Behalf of Detained and Formerly Detained Clients

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
  • Unclear but attorneys should proceed with extreme caution in pursuing any relief under this process.
  • No recission has been announced.
  • No recission has been announced.
  • The 2021 Victim Centered Approach Memo and the 2011 Prosecutorial Discretion for Victims and Witness have allegedly been rescinded though no public updated guidance available at the time of this updated. Media reports suggest that the requirements of 1367 protections should still be followed.
  • No recission has been announced.
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Media Tools

AILA Policy Brief: New Barriers at the Border Impede Due Process and Access to Asylum

AILA issued a policy brief explaining recent policy changes that have eroded the due process rights of asylum seekers and other migrants at ports of entry and in border regions.

6/1/18 AILA Doc. No. 18060102. Admissions & Border, Asylum & Refugees, Removal & Relief
Cases & Decisions, Federal Court Cases

CA7 Affirms Reinstatement of Prior Removal Order After Illegal Reentry

The court denied petition for review, rejecting the argument that, because reentry by previously removed LPR was “procedurally regular,” he was entitled to a full hearing before an IJ rather than be subject to reinstatement of prior removal order. (Mendoza v. Sessions, 5/31/18)

5/31/18 AILA Doc. No. 18071301. Admissions & Border, Removal & Relief
Federal Agencies

USCIS Provides Data on Pending DACA Applications as of May 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 May 31, 2018.

5/31/18 AILA Doc. No. 18081634. DACA, Removal & Relief
Federal Agencies

USCIS Provides Data on Active DACA Recipients as of May 31, 2018

USCIS provided data on active DACA recipients as of May 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.

5/31/18 AILA Doc. No. 18081608. DACA, Removal & Relief
Federal Agencies

USCIS Provides Approximate Number of Active DACA Recipients as of May 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 May 31, 2018.

5/31/18 AILA Doc. No. 18081609. DACA, Removal & Relief
Cases & Decisions, Federal Court Cases

CA1 Finds No Jurisdiction to Review Denial of Claim for Deferral of Removal

The court denied the petition for review, finding that the petitioner did not show that the record compels the conclusion that he is entitled to deferral of removal and that evidence of official acquiescence in torture was too speculative. (Morris v. Sessions, 5/30/18)

5/30/18 AILA Doc. No. 18070264. Removal & Relief
Federal Agencies, Agency Memos & Announcements

EOIR Released Memo on Staff Availability for Detail Travel

Aura Bogado, reporter for Reveal, obtained an EOIR memo that states that all personnel must sign up for three, two-week detail periods, between 7/7/18 and 1/5/19. This is being done, “in an effort to ensure that all immigration courts are appropriately staffed at all times."

5/30/18 AILA Doc. No. 18060539. Removal & Relief
Cases & Decisions, Federal Court Cases

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)

5/30/18 AILA Doc. No. 17091560. Crimes, Removal & Relief
Federal Agencies, Agency Memos & Announcements

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.

5/29/18 AILA Doc. No. 18082201. Asylum & Refugees, Removal & Relief
Cases & Decisions, Federal Court Cases

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)

Cases & Decisions, Federal Court Cases

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)

5/25/18 AILA Doc. No. 17071379. Asylum & Refugees, Removal & Relief
Cases & Decisions, Federal Court Cases

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)

5/25/18 AILA Doc. No. 18060833. Asylum & Refugees, Removal & Relief
Federal Agencies

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.

5/25/18 AILA Doc. No. 18061801. DACA, Removal & Relief
AILA Blog

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.

Cases & Decisions, Federal Court Cases

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)

5/24/18 AILA Doc. No. 18062702. Cancellation, Suspension & 212(c), Crimes, Removal & Relief
Cases & Decisions, Federal Court Cases

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)

5/23/18 AILA Doc. No. 18062546. Asylum & Refugees, Removal & Relief

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.

5/23/18 AILA Doc. No. 18052347. Asylum & Refugees, Congress, LGBTQ, Removal & Relief

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.

Federal Agencies, Agency Memos & Announcements

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.”

Cases & Decisions, DOJ/EOIR Cases

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)

Cases & Decisions, Federal Court Cases

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)

5/22/18 AILA Doc. No. 18051760. Detention & Bond, Removal & Relief
Cases & Decisions, DOJ/EOIR Cases

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)

5/21/18 AILA Doc. No. 19032696. Crimes, Removal & Relief
Cases & Decisions, DOJ/EOIR Cases

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)

5/21/18 AILA Doc. No. 19032795. Adjustment of Status, Crimes, Removal & Relief
Cases & Decisions, DOJ/EOIR Cases

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)

5/21/18 AILA Doc. No. 18052164. Crimes, Removal & Relief
Cases & Decisions, Federal Court Cases

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)

5/21/18 AILA Doc. No. 18071331. Asylum & Refugees, Removal & Relief