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.
| Pre Jan 20, 2025 Status | Current Status |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Browse the Featured Issue: Representing Clients Before ICE collection
H.R. 1468: Recognizing America’s Children Act
On 3/9/17, Representative Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) introduced the Recognizing America’s Children Act (H.R. 1468), which would allow young people who were brought to this country as children and grew up in the U.S. to adjust their status. The bill has 18 Republican cosponsors.
CA9 Finds Homosexual Asylum Seeker from Mexico Established Past Persecution
The en banc court granted the petition for review of the BIA’s denial of asylum to a homosexual citizen of Mexico who asserted that Mexican officials were unable or unwilling to protect him from harm by private individuals due to his sexual orientation. (Bringas-Rodriguez v. Sessions, 3/8/17)
DOJ Memo to Federal Prosecutors on Commitment to Targeting Violent Crimes
DOJ issued a memorandum directing a focused effort to investigate, prosecute, and deter crime, including directing the 94 U.S. Attorney’s Offices to partner with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement to specifically identify individuals who committed significant violent crimes.
BIA Finds LPR Did Not Abandon Residence Despite Absence of Nearly Three Years
Unpublished BIA decision finds respondent did not intend to abandon LPR status despite being abroad for 33 months because DHS failed to demonstrate the lack of a continuous intent to return. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Lei, 3/8/17)
CA2 Defers to BIA’s Decision in Matter of F-P-R- to Calculate Asylum Applicant’s “Last Arrival” into the United States
The court held that petitioner’s rebuffed effort to enter Canada from the United States after being illegally present in the United States counted as his “last arrival,” thus giving him an additional one year from that date to file an asylum application. (Linares-Urrutia v. Sessions, 3/7/17)
CA10 Says Petitioner’s Conviction for Providing False Information to a City Official During an Investigation Is Not a CIMT
The court held that the petitioner’s conviction for violating Denver Municipal Code §38-40, which prohibits giving false information to a city official during an investigation, did not constitute a crime involving moral turpitude. (Flores-Molina v. Sessions, 3/7/17)
CA8 Finds Violation of Kansas Municipal Theft Ordinance Is a Conviction and a CIMT
The court denied the petition for review, holding that the municipal judgments entered against the petitioners in Kansas for theft qualified as criminal convictions as well as crimes involving moral turpitude. (Dominguez-Herrera v. Sessions, 3/7/17)
List of ICE Facilities Authorized to Hold Detainees for Under 72 Hours
List of ICE detention facilities authorized to hold detainees under 72 hours as of 3/6/17. Data was requested by AILA Liaison on 12/1/16.
DHS OIG: Management Alert on Serious Issues at Detention Facility in Orange, California
The DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report with an alert on issues requiring immediate action at the Theo Lacy Facility in Orange, California including serious concerns of health risks and violations of ICE’s detention standards, following an unannounced inspection in November 2016.
BIA Finds Attorney Provided Ineffective Assistance by Failing to Submit Timely Cancellation Application
Unpublished BIA decision holds that the attorney provided ineffective assistance by failing to file a cancellation application before the court-imposed deadline and that respondent substantially complied with Matter of Lozada. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Sazo-Hernandez, 3/6/17)
Florida Judge Rules That Miami-Dade’s ICE Detainer Policy Violates the Constitution
A judge in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida found that Miami-Dade County violated the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution when it agreed to allow county jails to hold undocumented immigrants slated for deportation by federal agents. (Lacroix v. Junior, 3/3/17)
BIA Says Transporting a Loaded Firearm Under Oklahoma Law Is Categorically a Firearms Offense
The BIA held that the crime of transporting a loaded firearm under Oklahoma law is categorically a firearms offense under INA §237(a)(2)(C), in light of the “expansive text and history” of §237(a)(2)(C). Matter of Flores-Abarca, 26 I&N Dec. 922 (BIA 2017)
Letter to EOIR: Atlanta Immigration Court Judges Fail to Uphold Ethical Standards
A 3/2/17 letter from the Southern Poverty Law Center and Emory University School of Law with findings of observations of the Atlanta Immigration Court, stating that Atlanta Immigration Court judges are failing to uphold ethical standards that ensure immigrants receive fair and impartial treatment.
DHS Provides Q&As Regarding DHS Implementation of the Executive Order on Border Security and Immigration Enforcement
DHS issued Q&As, last updated on 3/2/17, to answer Frequently Asked Questions about how the Department will operationally implement the guidance provided by the president’s Executive Order on Border Security and Immigration Enforcement.
BIA Holds Removal Does Not Moot Appeal of Denial of Motion to Rescind In Absentia Order
Unpublished BIA decision denies DHS motion to reconsider decision rescinding in absentia order due to lack of notice and holds that appeal was not rendered moot by respondent’s removal. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Aparicio, 3/2/17)
EOIR Releases FY2016 Statistics Yearbook
EOIR released its FY2016 statistics yearbook with data on cases before immigration courts, BIA, and OCAHO, as well as appeals of IJ decisions to the BIA. The data includes information on respondents’ cases by naturalization, language, and disposition, and provides asylum case information.
Reactions to the President’s Joint Address to Congress
Several members of AILA's Executive Committee share their reactions to President Trump's Joint Address to Congress on February 28, 2017: “We agree that we have to restore integrity and the rule of law to our borders, and especially to the agencies responsible for enforcing that law. The record of di
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Because Attorney Provided Wrong Hearing Date
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order of removal sua sponte due to attorney misadvising respondent as to the date of the hearing. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Alcaraz, 2/27/17)
BIA Holds Arizona Possession of Drug Parapheralia Not a Controlled Substance Offense
Unpublished BIA decision holds that possession of drug paraphernalia under Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13-3415 is not an offense relating to a controlled substance under Mellouli v. Lynch, 135 S. Ct. 1980 (2015). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Pimber-Cirerol, 2/15/17)
CA5 Overturns Preliminary Injunction Blocking Enforcement of Texas’s Immigrant-Harboring Law
The court found that there was no reasonable interpretation of a TX law criminalizing the “harboring of illegal aliens” by which merely renting housing or providing social services to undocumented persons constitutes “harboring” them “from detection.” (Cruz et al. v. Abbott et al., 2/23/17)
CA4 Says Determining Whether Petitioner’s Evidence Meets Good Faith Marriage Standard Is Subject to De Novo Review
The court granted the petition for review and remanded, holding that the BIA should have reviewed de novo the IJ’s ultimate legal judgment that the petitioner’s evidence did not meet the good faith marriage standard of INA §216(c)(4)(B). (Upatcha v. Sessions, 2/22/17)
CA4 Finds BIA’s Interpretation of INA §209(b) Was Reasonable
The court denied the petition for review, holding that the BIA’s reliance on its precedential decision in Matter of C-J-H-, which held that noncitizens who adjust to LPR status under INA §209(b) do not retain their asylum status, was reasonable. (Mahmood v. Sessions, 2/22/17)
DOJ Memo: Rescission of Memorandum on Use of Private Prisons
DOJ issued a memo to the Federal Bureau of Prisons rescinding the memo dated 8/18/16 entitled “Reducing our Use of Private Prisons,” eliminating the review of private prison contracts at the end of their term.
DHS Provides Q&As Regarding DHS Implementation of the Executive Order on Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States
DHS issued Q&As to answer Frequently Asked Questions on how the Department will operationally implement the guidance provided by the president’s Executive Order on Interior Enforcement.
AILA Quicktake #189: DHS Memos on Interior and Border Enforcement
AILA's Director of Advocacy Greg Chen provides details on two memos signed by DHS Secretary Kelly implementing President Trump's Executive Orders on interior and border enforcement.