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
AILA Sends Letter to Congress with Recommendations on FY2025 Appropriations
AILA sent a letter to Congressional leadership recommending that they prioritize adequate funding for the immigration system in the FY2025 appropriations necessary for establishing a more efficient system.
CA9 Remands Asylum Claim of Petitioner Who Claimed He Was Persecuted in India Due to His Membership in the Mann Party
The court held that the record compelled the conclusion that the petitioner experienced past harm rising to the level of persecution, and that the BIA erred in its internal relocation analysis for purposes of asylum and withholding of removal. (Singh v. Garland, 3/22/24)
AILA Key Takeaways from 2024 BIA Spring Conference Panel
On March 22, 2024, AILA hosted an open forum at the 2024 Spring Conference with the BIA. The EOIR National Committee provides the following key takeaways.
AILA Key Takeaways from 2024 EOIR Spring Conference Panel
On March 21, 2024, AILA hosted an open forum at the 2024 Spring Conference with EOIR leadership. The EOIR National Committee provides the following key takeaways.
CA7 Upholds Asylum Denial to Petitioner Targeted by Extortionists in Honduras
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s determination that the petitioner, who claimed she was targeted by extortionists in Honduras, had not established that she had been, and would continue to be, persecuted on account of a protected status. (Cruz v. Garland, 3/21/24)
CA1 Remands Petitioner’s Withholding Claim Where BIA Mischaracterized Her Gender-Based PSG
The court held that the BIA’s mischaracterization of the petitioner’s proposed particular social group (PSG)—which the court found could be restated simply as “Trinidadian women who oppose gender-based domestic violence”—was a legal error. (Ferreira v. Garland, 3/21/24)
EOIR Experiencing Intermittent Systemwide Outages
EOIR posted an alert that it has been experiencing intermittent systemwide outages and is working to resolve the issues. EOIR will issue new Notices of Hearing to anyone whose hearings were affected by these outages.
AILA’s EOIR Liaison Committee Meeting with EOIR (3/20/24)
AILA’s EOIR Liaison Committee provides the unofficial minutes and agenda from its liaison meeting with EOIR on March 20, 2024.
AILA’s ICE Committees Meets with ICE (3/20/24)
AILA’s ICE Liaison Committee met with ICE's OPLA and ERO on March 20, 2024. Read the agenda, key takeaways, and official minutes.
Practice Alert: Padilla v. ICE and Delays in Credible Fear Interviews
AILA shares an updated practice alert regarding the Padilla v. ICE settlement. This practice alert includes more detailed information on contacting class counsel regarding potential violations of the settlement in individual cases, as well as the current status of the litigation.
CA4 Finds Petitioner’s Virginia Convictions for Attempted Sexual Battery and Electronic Solicitation of a Minor Were CIMTs
The court affirmed the BIA’s determination that petitioner’s two Virginia convictions for attempted sexual battery and electronic solicitation of a minor were crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs) that rendered him removable under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(ii). (Gomez-Ruotolo v. Garland, 3/20/24)
CA6 Upholds Asylum Denial After Finding No Nexus Between Petitioner’s Harm and Her Identity as a Mayan Akateko Woman
The court upheld the BIA’s and IJ’s conclusions that petitioner had failed to demonstrate a nexus between her particular social group (PSG) and the harm she experienced, and had not shown that the Guatemalan government had acquiesced in her mistreatment. (Sabastian-Andres v. Garland, 3/20/24)
Supreme Court Issues Ruling That Allows Texas to Enforce SB4
The Supreme Court denied the applications to vacate the stay of the preliminary injunction against Texas Senate Bill 4 (SB4) but later in the day, the Fifth Circuit again paused the law from going into effect. (United States v. Texas, 3/19/24)
Supreme Court Rules That Courts Have Jurisdiction to Review Hardship Determinations in Cancellation of Removal Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court held that the application of the exceptional and extremely unusual hardship standard to an established set of facts is a mixed question of law and fact that is reviewable as a question of law under INA §242(a)(2)(D). (Wilkinson v. Garland, 3/19/24)
CA1 Upholds Asylum Denial Where Guatemalan Petitioner Failed to Exhaust Imputed Membership and Race-Based Claims
The court held that the petitioner had failed to exhaust her race-based claims and her claim of imputed membership in the particular social group (PSG) consisting of “communal landowners of Ixchiguán, Guatemala, that refused to cooperate with criminal gangs.” (Chun Mendez v. Garland, 3/15/24)
CA11 Finds No Indication That BIA Applied Incorrect Legal Standard in Determining Petitioner Did Not Warrant Discretionary Relief
The court upheld the BIA’s dismissal of the petitioner’s appeal for adjustment of status and its subsequent denial of his motion to reconsider, finding that there was no indication that the BIA had applied a substantially incorrect legal standard. (Navarro Guadarrama v. Att’y Gen., 3/15/24)
CA6 Concludes That BIA Engaged in Improper De Novo Factfinding When Analyzing Petitioner’s Family-as-a-PSG Claim
The court held that the BIA’s conclusions as to the nexus required to prove asylum for the Salvadoran petitioner’s proposed particular social group (PSG) consisting of her family lacked support in the record and constituted improper de novo factfinding. (Vasquez-Rivera v. Garland, 3/15/24)
CA4 Holds That BIA Failed to Apply Correct Legal Standard in Finding Petitioner’s Conviction Was a Particularly Serious Crime
The court held that the BIA erred in finding that petitioner’s money laundering conspiracy conviction in violation of 18 USC §1956(h) was a particularly serious crime barring withholding of removal, and thus vacated the BIA decision and remanded. (Annor v. Garland, 3/15/24, amended 5/22/24)
ICE Announces Initial Deployment of 1,600 Body-worn Cameras
ICE announced the initial deployment of 1,600 body-worn cameras to HSI and ERO. During this phase, ICE will distribute body-worn cameras and provide specific training to ERO and HSI personnel in the Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, Buffalo, and Detroit areas of responsibility.
Think Immigration: A Look Inside DHS’ Family Expedited Removal Management Program
AILA Law Student Member Araceli Garcia describes how University of Texas Law students were able to help families in the expedited removal program and how the expansion of the FERM program has meant the need for counsel has only grown.
EOIR Announces Relocation of Orlando Immigration Court
EOIR announced that the Orlando Immigration Court will suspend regular court functions at its current location at the close of business on March 13, 2024, to prepare for the court’s relocation. Staff will remain onsite to accept phone calls and filings until March 15, 2024.
DHS Notice of Employment Authorization for Venezuelan F–1 Students Experiencing Severe Economic Hardship
DHS notice suspending certain regulatory requirements for F-1 nonimmigrant students whose country of citizenship is Venezuela and who are experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of the crisis in Venezuela. Action is effective 3/11/24 through 9/10/25. (89 FR 17500, 3/11/24)
OIDO Invitation to March Roundtable Discussions
The Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman will hold two roundtable discussions in March to collect feedback. On March 14, it will hold a MyOIDO feedback webinar and on March 21, it will hold a legal access webinar. Notice includes registration information.
CA2 Finds That BIA’s Retroactive Application of Its “Minimum Constitutional Protections” Test Was Appropriate
The court held that the BIA’s retroactive application of its “minimum constitutional protections” test was appropriate, and thus concluded that the petitioner had twice been convicted of crimes for removal purposes under INA §101(a)(48)(A) and INA §237(a)(2)(A)(ii). (Wong v. Garland, 3/11/24)
CA9 Remands for BIA to Properly Consider Whether Supporting Documents Independently Proved Petitioner’s Past Persecution Claim
The court held that the BIA did not properly evaluate whether the petitioner’s documentary evidence independently supported her claims of past persecution in her native Zambia on account of her sexual orientation. (Kalulu v. Garland, 3/11/24, amended 2/13/25)