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 Holds Texas Statute Not a Crime of Violence
Unpublished BIA decision holds that injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual under Texas Penal Code 22.04(a) is not a crime of violence because it criminalizes omissions rather than intentional uses of force. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of J-K-O-, 5/10/17)
TRAC Files FOIA Suit Claiming ICE Is Withholding Data on Detainer Usage
The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) alleging that, starting in January 2017, ICE began unlawfully withholding records related to its immigration enforcement actions and its interaction with other law enforcement agencies.
The Perils of Expedited Removal: How Fast-Tracked Deportations Jeopardize Asylum Seekers
The American Immigration Council released a report with original testimony to demonstrate that the government’s reliance on “fast-track” deportation methods, such as expedited removal, in conjunction with detention often results in disadvantaging women and their children held in detention centers.
CA3 Says South Carolina Accessory-After-the-Fact Conviction Is Not a “Particularly Serious Crime” Under the INA
The court held that the petitioner’s South Carolina accessory-after-the-fact conviction was not an offense “relating to obstruction of justice” and therefore could not be considered either an aggravated felony or a particularly serious crime under the INA. (Flores v. Att’y Gen., 5/8/17)
Systemic Indifference: Dangerous and Substandard Medical Care in Immigration Detention
The Human Rights Watch released a report that reveals systemic failures, such as unreasonable delays in care and unqualified medical staff, that are likely to expose a record number of people to dangerous conditions under President Trump’s ramped up deportation and detention plans.
Sign-On Letter Calling on DHS Secretary Kelly to Halt the Expansion of Immigration Detention
On 5/8/17, AILA joined 271 other organizations, urging DHS Secretary John Kelly to halt the expansion of immigration detention and to strengthen rather than lessen standards and monitoring of a system that already endangers the lives and due process rights of asylum seekers and immigrants.
BIA Finds Driving Without a License Resulting in Death or Serious Injury Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that driving without a valid driver’s license resulting in death or serious bodily injury under Fla. Stat. 322.34(6) is not a CIMT because it requires only carelessness or negligence. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Saucedo, 5/8/17)
ICE Directive on Stays of Removal and Private Immigration Bills
ICE issued policy directive 5004.1, which establishes policy, procedures, and responsibilities that ICE will adhere to when considering and issuing stays of removal related to private immigration bills.
ICE Letter to Senator Grassley Regarding Grants of Stays of Removal and Private Immigration Bills
On 5/5/17, ICE sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on policy changes on granting of stays of removal in connection with private immigration bills. Changes are effective immediately. Among other changes, the stay duration will be limited to six months with a one-time 90-day extension.
Immigration Policy Update: Federal Spending Bill and Immigration
On 5/1/17, news broke that Congress reached an agreement on the funding bill to keep the government open for the rest of 2017. This policy update provides an overview of the major immigration provisions, including funding for border security and interior enforcement, and limited H-2B relief.
Migration Policy Institute: Advances in U.S.-Mexico Border Enforcement
The Migration Policy Institute provided analysis of previously unpublished Consequence Delivery System data from U.S. Border Patrol as well as fieldwork in the Tucson and Rio Grande Valley sectors, discussing which consequence measures may be most effective in deterring illegal migration.
BIA Says Noncitizens Who Assist in Persecution Need Not Have a Persecutory Motive to Be Subject to the Persecutor Bar
The BIA held that the persecutor bar in INA §241(b)(3)(B)(i) applied to the respondent because, regardless of his own motives, he assisted or otherwise participated in the persecution of an individual because of the individual’s political opinion. Matter of Alvarado, 27 I&N Dec. 27 (BIA 2017)
EOIR Relocates Las Vegas Immigration Court
EOIR will temporarily close its Las Vegas Immigration Court on 5/10/17 to prepare for relocation. The Immigration Court will recommence hearings at the new location on 5/16/17. Contact information for the new location included.
AILA Quicktake #201: FY2017 Spending Bill Approved
Congress has reached an agreement on the funding bill to keep the government open for the rest of FY2017. AILA's Director of Government Relations Greg Chen gives an overview of the major immigration provisions, including funding for border security and interior enforcement, and limited H-2B relief.
DHS Notice of Proposed New DHS/ICE–016 FALCON Search and Analysis System of Records
DHS notice of the proposed establishment of a new system of records titled ‘‘DHS/ICE–016 FALCON Search and Analysis System of Records,’’ a consolidated information management system to enable ICE personnel to search, analyze, and visualize volumes of existing information. (82 FR 20905, 5/4/17)
DHS Proposed Rule Exempting New DHS/ICE–016 FALCON Search and Analysis System of Records from Privacy Act
DHS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to exempt portions of the new DHS/ICE–016 FALCON Search and Analysis System of Records from certain provisions of the Privacy Act. Comments are due 6/5/17. (82 FR 20844, 5/4/17)
BIA Finds Asylum Applicant Did Not Commit Serious Nonpolitical Crime
Unpublished BIA decision reverses finding that respondent committed serious nonpolitical crime by being forced to deliver drugs and extortion money for a gang as a 12-year-old homeless child. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of C-A-H-C-, 5/4/17)
BIA Finds Forcible Gang Recruit Did Not Commit Serious Nonpolitical Crime
Unpublished BIA decision reverses finding that respondent committed a “serious nonpolitical crime” by delivering drugs and extortion money at the behest of a gang as a 12-year-old homeless child. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of C-H-C-, 5/4/17)
BIA Finds Federal Immigration Document Fraud Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that immigration document fraud under 18 USC 1546(a) is not a CIMT because it criminalizes the possession without intent to use an altered immigration document. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Nolasco, 5/3/17)
CA1 Finds Noncitizens Who Are Subject to Reinstated Orders of Removal May Not Apply for Asylum
The court denied the petition for review, holding that noncitizens who are subject to reinstated orders of removal may not apply for asylum, even though they may be entitled to withholding of removal. (Garcia-Garcia v. Sessions, 5/3/17)
CA4 Says Conviction for Third Degree Burglary in Maryland Is a CIMT
The court denied the petition for review, concluding that Maryland third degree burglary qualifies as a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(ii). (Uribe v. Sessions, 5/3/17)
DOJ 60-Day Notice and Comment Request on Form EOIR-27
DOJ 60-day notice and comment request on Form EOIR-27, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative Before the Board of Immigration Appeals. Comments are due 7/3/17. (82 FR 20489, 5/2/17)
CA3 Says Noncitizen Subject to a Reinstated Removal Order May Not Apply for Asylum
Finding that Congress had not spoken clearly on the issue in the relevant statute, the court gave Chevron deference to the BIA’s statutory interpretation that noncitizens subject to reinstated removal orders are ineligible to apply for asylum. (Cazun v. Attorney General, 5/2/17)
DOJ Announces Release of Data on Incarcerated Foreign-Born Inmates
DOJ released quarterly data stating that there are 45,493 foreign-born inmates incarcerated under the supervision of the Bureau of Prisons as of 3/25/17. DOJ is working on establishing a process for collecting data on convicted undocumented immigrants in state prisons and local detention centers.
EOIR FOIA Response Provides List of Potential Institutional Hearing Program Locations
EOIR records received on 5/2/17 in response to AILA’s FOIA request for a list of additional Institutional Hearing Program (IHP) locations. Attorney General Sessions announced the expansion and modernization of the IHP program on 3/30/17, implementing Executive Order 13768 on interior enforcement.