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
CA7 Upholds Asylum Denial to Member of the Democratic Party in Mongolia
The court held that petitioner, a member of the Democratic Party in Mongolia, failed to establish past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution, and did not show that it was more likely than not that he would be tortured upon return to Mongolia. (Tsegmed v. Sessions, 6/15/17)
CA7 Upholds Finding That Conviction for First-Degree Reckless Injury in Wisconsin Is a Particularly Serious Crime
The court dismissed the petition for review for lack of jurisdiction, holding that the BIA did not abuse its discretion by finding that the petitioner, who was convicted of first-degree reckless injury, committed a “particularly serious crime.” (Herrera-Ramirez v. Sessions, 6/15/17)
ICE News Release: Operation Matador Nets 39 MS-13 Arrests
ICE announced a unified effort to combatting MS-13 and the arrest of 45 individuals during a recent operation. According to ICE, twelve individuals arrested crossed the border as unaccompanied minors and three individuals entered the United States with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJ).
CA7 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Salvadoran Who Feared Targeting by MS-13 Gang
The court held that the petitioner, who feared the MS-13 gang would target him based on its perception of him as a wealthy business owner, failed to establish his life or freedom would be threatened based on a protected ground. (Lopez v. Sessions, 6/13/17)
BIA Reopens Removal Proceedings of Respondent Deported in 2008 as an Aggravated Felon Due to Minor Controlled Substance Convictions
Unpublished BIA decision reopens removal proceedings of the respondent who was deported as an aggravated felon due to controlled substance convictions, finding he proved misadvice from prior attorneys and equitable tolling. Courtesy of Geoffrey Hoffman and Susham Modi. (Matter of X-, 6/12/17)
CA3 Finds IJ’s Conduct During Removal Hearing Violated Petitioner’s Right to Due Process
Where the IJ was hostile during the petitioner’s removal hearing, the court granted the petition for review, holding that the BIA misapplied the law in rejecting the petitioner’s procedural due process challenge to the IJ’s order of removal. (Serrano-Alberto v. Att’y Gen., 6/12/17)
BIA Solicits Amicus Briefs on Modified Categorical Approach and CIMTs
The BIA is soliciting amicus briefs on three questions related to the modified categorical approach and crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs), including whether the Board’s decision in Matter of Silva-Trevino, 26 I&N Dec. 826 (BIA 2016), should be modified. Briefs are due by 7/12/17.
Federal Judge Reinstates Georgia Woman's DACA Status
A federal judge in Georgia ordered the DACA status of Jessica Colotl, whose status had been terminated, to be reinstated pending reconsideration by USCIS, finding that the government failed to present evidence that it had complied with its own procedures. (Colotl v. Kelly, 6/12/17)
Documents Relating to Supreme Court Case on Gender-Based Distinction for Acquisition of Citizenship
The Supreme Court found unconstitutional the gender-based distinction in INA §309(c), requiring a shorter period of parental physical presence in the U.S. for acquisition of citizenship through an unwed citizen mother than an unwed citizen father. (Sessions v. Morales-Santana, 6/12/17)
BIA Reopens and Terminates Proceedings Because Conviction Was No Longer an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision reopens and terminates proceedings sua sponte where conviction for embezzlement under Va. Code 18.2-111 was neither an aggravated felony theft nor fraud offense. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Mattis, 6/11/17)
AILA Quicktake #207: Dilley Pro Bono Project Files Suit
Legal Director for the American Immigration Council Melissa Crow shares why the Dilley Pro Bono Project filed suit to challenge a new ICE policy that arbitrarily restricts the types of legal services that the project may provide.
BIA Reopens Proceedings Based on Unpublished BIA Decision
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings following submission of unpublished decision that found 35 Pa. Cons. Stat. 78-113(a)(30) not to be an aggravated felony drug trafficking crime. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Watkins, 6/9/17)
BIA Holds Florida Grand Theft Is Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that grand theft under Fla. Stat. 812.014 is not a CIMT because it applies to temporary takings or appropriations of property. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ngo, 6/8/17)
Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions: Supreme Court Limits Reach of Aggravated Felony “Sexual Abuse of a Minor” Ground and Provides Support on Other
The National Immigration Project and the Immigrant Defense Project provides a practice advisory on Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions, including suggested strategies and a sample motion to reconsider for cases affected by the decision, which should be filed by 6/29/17.
CA4 Says Deferred Adjudication Under Virginia Code §18.2-251 Falls Within the Unambiguous Definition of a Conviction
The court denied the petition for review, holding that the petitioner’s 2005 criminal proceedings under Virginia Code §18.2-251 for possession of cocaine fell squarely within the plain text of INA §101(a)(48)(A), and thus constituted a conviction. (Payan Jaquez v. Sessions, 6/8/17)
CA7 Says Noncitizens Subject to Reinstatement of a Removal Order Cannot Apply for Asylum
The court dismissed the petition for review, holding that because asylum is a form of discretionary relief, the petitioner, who was subject to a reinstated order of removal, lacked standing to challenge the federal regulations prohibiting him from applying for it. (Garcia v. Sessions, 6/8/17)
CA9 Says Fleeing from Police Under California Vehicle Code §2800.2 Is Not Categorically a CIMT
The court held that petitioner’s conviction for fleeing from a police officer under California Vehicle Code §2800.2 was not categorically a crime involving moral turpitude, and thus that he was not statutorily ineligible for cancellation of removal. (Ramirez-Contreras v. Sessions, 6/8/17)
Sign-On Letter Calling on Members of Congress to Oppose the House Anti-Border Corruption Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2213)
On 6/6/17, AILA joined 42 organizations in urging members of Congress to oppose the Anti-Border Corruption Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2213), which would eliminate critical polygraph requirements for some U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) applicants.
AILA Issues Vote Recommendation on H.R. 2213
AILA urges members of Congress to vote NO on Representative Martha McSally’s (R-AZ) Anti-Border Corruption Reauthorization Act of 2017, which would allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection to waive polygraph examination requirements for applicants.
Federal Judge in Texas Finds County Policy of Honoring ICE Detainers Violated Plaintiff’s Rights
A district judge found that a Texas county’s policy of honoring ICE detainers violated the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights of a plaintiff who was held in county detention pursuant to an ICE detainer after his criminal charge was dismissed. (Trujillo Santoyo v. United States, 6/5/17)
ICE eService Pilot- Dallas and St. Paul
ICE brochure announcing a voluntary 60-day pilot for ICE eService that begins on Monday, June 5, 2017, offering electronic service of documents between ICE OPLA offices and respondents or legal representatives. The pilot is only available for Dallas and St. Paul areas of responsibility.
Sign-On Letter Calling on the Appropriations Committees to Reject the President’s “Enforcement Only” Budget Request
On 6/5/17, AILA joined 273 organizations in urging the Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT); and House Appropriations Chairman Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) and Ranking Member Lowey (D-NY) to oppose President Trump’s “Enforcement Only” budget request.
BIA Vacates Discretionary Denial of Asylum Application
Unpublished BIA decision finds IJ erred in denying asylum application as a matter of discretion solely because respondent failed to seek asylum during two prior visits to United Kingdom. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of G-S-, 6/5/17)
BIA Finds Tax Conviction Is Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds that failure to collect or pay over a tax under 26 USC §7202 is not an aggravated felony because INA §101(a)(43)(M)(ii) applies only to offenses described in 26 USC §7201. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Corral, 6/2/17)
BIA Dismisses Appeal, Finding Respondent Did Not Establish Claim to Citizenship
The BIA affirmed the IJ’s decision and dismissed the respondent’s appeal, finding that the respondent did not show that proceedings must be instituted to revoke citizenship and did not establish his claim to citizenship. Matter of Falodun, 27 I&N Dec. 52 (BIA 2017)