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 Says Respondent’s Connecticut Conviction for Larceny Is Not a Theft Offense Under INA §101(a)(43)(G)
Unpublished BIA decision holds that the petitioner’s conviction for larceny in Connecticut was not an aggravated felony theft offense, because the Connecticut statute under which she was convicted is overbroad and indivisible. Special thanks to Holli Wargo. (Matter of Lopes, 2/15/17)
TRAC Report with a Primer on ICE Immigration Raids
This TRAC report states that during FY2016 ICE apprehended and removed an average of 1,250 individuals each week from the interior of the U.S. However, most arrests occurred when ICE assumed custody of individuals arrested or detained by local, state, and other federal law enforcement agencies.
Documents Related to Habeas Corpus Petition Filed by DACA Recipient in Washington
Documents related to a habeas corpus petition filed in Medina v. DHS, a case involving a DACA recipient in Washington State who was arrested and taken into custody by ICE agents. The arrest occurred at the home of the DACA recipient’s father, for whom ICE had an arrest warrant.
ICE Fact Sheet Regarding Arrests in Georgia and the Carolinas
ICE fact sheet with information on the nearly 200 unlawfully present foreign nationals that were arrested in the states of Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina during a targeted enforcement operation conducted by ICE.
ICE Fact Sheet Regarding Arrests in Los Angeles-Area Operation
ICE fact sheet with information on the 161 foreign nationals that were taken into custody in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas during a five-day enforcement operation conducted by ICE.
ICE Fact Sheet Regarding Arrests in Six Midwestern States
ICE released a fact sheet with information on the 235 foreign nationals that were arrested in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Kansas and Missouri during a targeted enforcement operation conducted by ICE.
ICE Fact Sheet Regarding Arrests in San Antonio Area
ICE released a fact sheet with information on the 28 foreign nationals that were arrested in San Antonio and the surrounding areas during a targeted enforcement operation conducted by ICE.
ICE Fact Sheet Regarding Arrests in the New York Area
ICE released a fact sheet with information on the 41 foreign nationals that were arrested in the five boroughs of New York City and the surrounding areas during a targeted enforcement operation conducted by ICE.
Statement from DHS Secretary Kelly on Recent ICE Enforcement Actions
ICE released a statement regarding enforcement operations that occurred across the country resulting in the arrest of 680 individuals in which the enforcement operations are described as consistent with the routine, targeted arrests carried out by Fugitive Operations teams on a daily basis.
CA7 Rejects “Entrapment by Estoppel” Defense of LPR Who Voted in Federal Election
The court upheld the removal order, finding that the petitioner did not make accurate disclosures about her lack of citizenship when applying for her driver’s license, and that no official at the DMV had told her that noncitizens are entitled to vote. (Fitzpatrick v. Sessions, 2/13/17)
USCIS Asylum Division Memo Releasing Revised Credible Fear and Reasonable Fear Lesson Plans
USCIS memo, dated 2/13/17, announcing the release of updated RAIO and Asylum Officer Training Course Lesson plans, Credible Fear of Persecution and Torture Determinations, and Reasonable Fear of Persecution and Torture Determinations.
RAIO and Asylum Division Officer Training Course on Credible Fear of Persecution and Torture Determinations
Updated lesson plan on credible fear of persecution and torture determinations for RAIO and Asylum Division Officer Training Course, effective 2/27/17.
RAIO and Asylum Division Officer Training Course on Reasonable Fear of Persecution and Torture Determinations
Updated lesson plan on reasonable fear of persecution and torture determinations for RAIO and Asylum Division Officer Training Course, effective 2/27/17.
USCIS Executive Summary of Changes to the Reasonable Fear Lesson Plan
USCIS summary of changes to the 2/13/17 lesson plan on reasonable fear of persecution and torture determinations for RAIO and Asylum Division Officer Training Course.
USCIS Executive Summary of Changes to the Credible Fear Lesson Plan
USCIS summary of changes to the 2/13/17 lesson plan on credible fear of persecution and torture determinations for RAIO and Asylum Division Officer Training Course.
H.R. 1006: Access to Counsel Act
On 2/13/17, Congresswoman Jayapal Pramila (D-WA) introduced the Access to Counsel Act (H.R. 1006) to clarify the rights of all persons held or detained at a port of entry or at any detention facility overseen by CBP or ICE. Forty-eight Democratic members co-sponsored the bill.
Documents Relating to Virginia Case Challenging Executive Order 13769 (Aziz v. Trump)
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema granted a preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration from implementing its travel ban in Virginia, finding that an unconstitutional religious bias is at the heart of the travel ban. (Aziz v. Trump, 2/13/17)
Fact Sheet: ICE Fugitive Enforcement Operations (2/13/17)
ICE released a fact sheet on its fugitive enforcement operations, which ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) conducts on a regular basis, both nationwide and locally in 24 field offices across the United States. Fact sheet included summaries and statistics of national and local operations.
CRS Report: Immigration Officers’ Authority to Apprehend and Remove Undocumented Individuals
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) provided a Legal Sidebar after reports that ICE agents conducted enforcement actions in at least six states during the week of February 6, 2017, raised a number of questions about agents’ authority to apprehend and remove undocumented immigrants.
Practice Alert: Targeted ICE Enforcement Actions are Underway
AILA has received information that ICE has once again commenced targeted enforcement actions by reinstituting “Operation Cross Check,” this time focusing on fugitives, individuals who reentered after they were deported, and at large “criminal aliens” (anyone with any criminal conviction).
S. 349: Access to Counsel Act
On 2/9/17, Senator Kamala Harris of California, along with six fellow Democratic senators, introduced a bill to guarantee access to counsel to those held or detained at a port of entry or detention facility overseen by CBP or ICE.
Quick Summary of Immigration-Related Provisions of February 9, 2017, Trump Executive Orders
AILA issued a quick summary of the immigration-related provisions of President Trump’s February 9, 2017, Executive Orders.
CA5 Upholds Denial of Naturalization Application Where USCIS Found Appellant Did Not Receive a Full and Unconditional Executive Pardon
The court held that USCIS’s interpretation of a “full and unconditional executive pardon” was permissible, and affirmed a summary judgment upholding the denial of the appellant’s application for naturalization. (Nguyen v. USCIS, 2/9/17)
BIA Dismisses Multiple CIMT Charge In Light of Prior 212(c) Waiver
Unpublished BIA decision holds that grant of 212(c) waiver for aggravated felony committed in 1993 precludes DHS from using offense to charge respondent in same proceeding with having been convicted of multiple CIMTs. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of M-M-S-, 2/9/17)
Senator Durbin Calls for Hearing on the President’s Immigration and Refugee Executive Orders
On 2/8/17, Senator Dick Durbin (D-NV) called on Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), Chairman of the Immigration Subcommittee, to hold a series of hearings on President Trump’s immigration and refugee executive orders that were signed in January 2017.