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
Mayors Ask President-Elect Trump To Continue DACA
On 12/7/16, fourteen mayors joined Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in sending President-elect Trump a letter to continue the DACA program, which protects DREAMers and grows the economy, until Congress modernizes America’s immigration system.
CA4 Says Petitioner’s Maryland Conviction for Third Degree Sex Offense Is Not an Aggravated Felony
The court granted the petition for review, holding that the petitioner’s conviction for “Third Degree Sex Offense” under Maryland Criminal Law Article § 3-307 did not qualify as the aggravated felony of “sexual abuse of a minor” under INA §101(a)(43)(A). (Larios-Reyes v. Lynch, 12/6/16)
CA9 Says BIA Should Have Corrected IJ's Erroneous Inference That Killings Are Not Torture
The court found that the BIA incorrectly upheld the IJ’s inference that killing does not constitute torture, and remanded for the BIA to reconsider the petitioner’s Convention Against Torture (CAT) claim in light of this recognition. (Reyes v. Lynch, 11/30/16)
TRAC Report Finds Asylum Outcome Increasingly Depends on Judge Assigned
This TRAC report finds that, nationally, the average decision disparity in asylum cases worsened by 27 percent during the last six years. Overall, the median level of asylum decision disparity that asylum seekers face is now over 56 percentage points.
BIA Holds Oklahoma Burglary Statute Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds that 21 Okla. Stat. 1435 is not an aggravated felony “burglary offense” because it applies to non-buildings and structures and the statute is not divisible. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Doeh, 12/5/16)
Members of Congress Urge President Obama to Protect Personal Information
On 12/5/16, Representative Judy Chu (D-CA) along with 110 other members of Congress called on President Obama to protect private data and information on DACA recipients.
BIA Dismisses Charges Based on Guilty Plea to Legally Impossible Crime
Unpublished BIA decision holds that attempted second degree assault under N.Y.P.L. 120.05 is not a CIMT or an aggravated felony crime of violence because it is a “legally impossible” crime. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Haynes, 12/2/16)
Getting Off the Assembly Line: Overcoming Immigration Court Obstacles in Individual Cases
The Appleseed Network released a resource to help new and experienced attorneys, which provides an overview of immigration court proceedings, as well as specific sections on working with clients in detention, working with DHS and DOJ, and reporting immigration judge and DHS attorney misconduct.
ICE Performance-Based National Detention Standards (2016)
A 2016 version of ICE’s Performance-Based National Detention Standards, which establish consistent conditions of confinement, program operations, and management expectations within ICE’s detention system. Includes a summary of the 2016 changes made to the 2011 version.
AILA ICE Liaison Committee Meeting Q&As (12/1/16)
AILA ICE Liaison Committee questions and answers from the 12/1/16 liaison meeting with ICE, including information on communication with local OCC, delayed service, detention, access to counsel, ISAP, U visa applicants, bond, detainers, and parole.
Immigration Court Practice Manual (Updated 12/1/16)
EOIR provides an updated Immigration Court Practice Manual (updated on 12/1/16). The Practice Manual is a comprehensive guide that sets forth uniform procedures, recommendations, and requirements for practice before the Immigration Courts.
BIA Says Cuban Parolee Is Not Eligible to Adjust Status Under INA §209
Where the respondent was paroled into the U.S. with an Arrival/Departure Record stamped “Cuban/Haitian Entrant (Status Pending)” indicating his entry was for “Cuban Asylum,” the BIA found he was ineligible to adjust status under INA §209. Matter of L-T-P-, 26 I&N Dec. 862 (BIA 2016)
Immigration Law Advisor, November 2016 (Vol. 10, No. 8)
The November 2016 issue of Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, includes an article with a discussion of the reception of internet sources in immigration proceedings, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions from October 2016 and BIA precedent decisions.
Homeland Security Advisory Council Report of the Subcommittee on Privatized Immigration Detention Facilities
The Homeland Security Advisory Council subcommittee issued a report with several recommendations including “continuation [of DHS’s use of private for-profit detention] should come with improved and expanded ICE oversight, and with further exploration of other models…."
EOIR Proposed Rule on Denials of Suspension of Deportation and Cancellation of Removal
Proposed EOIR rule allowing IJs and the BIA to issue final denials of suspension of deportation and cancellation of removal applications regardless of whether the annual cap has been reached. Comments are due by 1/30/17. (81 FR 86291, 11/30/16)
Offering the Community Your Expertise Post-Election
There is fear in our communities. In the days following the presidential election, I heard from a lot of people who want to help, but aren't sure exactly how. Though there are many ways to get involved, I want to offer an example of how a fellow AILA member and I volunteered a couple of […]
TRAC Report Finds Immigration Now Accounts for 52 Percent of All Federal Criminal Prosecutions
This TRAC report finds that criminal prosecutions for illegal entry, illegal re-entry, and similar immigration violations made up 52 percent of all federal prosecutions in FY2016. Immigration prosecutions totaled 69,636 during FY2016, compared with 63,405 prosecutions for all other federal crimes.
CA9 Upholds BIA’s Refusal to Consider Adjustment of Status Petition of Peruvian Who Fraudulently Entered Under the VWP
In an issue of first impression, the court held that a noncitizen who fraudulently enters the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is subject to the VWP’s limitations, including waiving any challenge to deportation other than asylum. (Riera-Riera v. Lynch, 11/28/16)
BIA Holds Obstructing Official Business in Ohio Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that obstructing official business under Ohio Rev. Code 2921.31(A) is not a CIMT. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Moreno, 11/28/16)
BIA Dismisses False Claim to Citizenship Charge
Unpublished BIA decision dismisses charge that respondent made false claim to U.S. citizenship when applying for New Mexico driver’s license because lawful status was not required to obtain such a license. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Melendez Manriquez, 11/25/16)
BIA Holds Texas Burglary of a Vehicle Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that burglary of a vehicle under Tex. Penal Code 30.04 is not a CIMT because offenders may intend to commit non-turpitudinous crime. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Davila, 11/23/16)
USCIS Policy Memo on Discretionary Options for Spouses, Parents, and Children of Certain Military Personnel, Veterans, and Enlistees
USCIS policy memo with guidance on discretionary options for certain noncitizen family members of individuals serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces or in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve, as well as for certain noncitizen family members of other military personnel and veterans.
Statement by DHS Secretary Johnson on the Resumption of Removals to Haiti
DHS statement that removals of Haitian nationals have resumed after removal flights were suspended due to Hurricane Matthew on 10/4/16. In the last several weeks ICE has removed over 200 Haitian nationals and plans to significantly expand removal operations in the coming weeks.
District Court Orders ORR to Release Unaccompanied Minor from Custody Finding Due Process Violations
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted the petition for a writ of habeas corpus, holding that the Office of Refugee Resettlement's family reunification procedures did not afford petitioner and her unaccompanied child due process. (Beltrán v. Cardall, 11/22/16)
DHS Response to AILA Letter on the Current Situation in Haiti
DHS sent a response to an AILA and Council letter regarding the removal of Haitian nationals to Haiti, TPS and redesignation for Haitian nationals, and the Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program. The letter notes that almost 60,000 Haitians in the United States currently have TPS.