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 Arizona Conviction for Shoplifting Is a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude
The BIA sustained DHS’s appeal from the IJ’s decision terminating the removal proceedings against the respondent, holding that shoplifting under Arizona Revised Statutes §13-1805(A) is a categorical crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). Matter of Diaz-Lizarraga, 26 I&N Dec. 847 (BIA 2016)
BIA Says New York Conviction for Petit Larceny Is a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude
The BIA held that petit larceny in violation of N.Y.P.L. §155.25, which requires intent to deprive an owner of his property permanently or under circumstances where the owner’s property rights are substantially eroded, is categorically a CIMT. Matter of Obeya, 26 I&N Dec. 856 (BIA 2016)
CA9 Upholds BIA’s Retroactive Application of Supreme Court’s Decision in Holder v. Martinez Gutierrez
The court upheld BIA’s decision retroactively applying to petitioner the holding in Holder v. Martinez Gutierrez that a cancellation of removal applicant must satisfy the years-of-residence requirement on his own, without relying on a parent’s history. (Lemus v. Lynch, 11/16/16)
Migration Policy Institute: Who Might Be a Priority for Removal
The Migration Policy Institute provides a report, “Unauthorized Immigrants with Criminal Convictions: Who Might Be a Priority for Removal,” regarding the number of unauthorized immigrants who could be deported because of criminal records when the Trump administration takes charge.
ACLU Files Suit Challenging Government’s Policy of Setting Immigration Bonds Without Regard to Noncitizens’ Financial Resources
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California seeking to require the federal government to apply standards similar to those used in criminal cases when it sets bail bonds for immigrants. (Hernandez v. Lynch, 4/6/16)
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Due to Mistake By Bond Company in Reporting Address
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order where bond company failed to include respondent’s apartment number when reporting his address to the immigration court. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Aparicio, 11/15/16)
AILA Submits Amicus Brief on Due Process Rights of Immigrant Deportees
The AILA Amicus Committee filed an amicus brief with the Connecticut Supreme Court asking to reverse the decision barring post-conviction motions and appeals in instances where the defendant is removed from the United States. The brief argued the defendant was denied due process based on alienage.
CA5 Upholds Withholding of Removal Denial to Petitioner Who Feared Persecution in Mexico for Perceived Wealth
The court held that persons believed to be wealthy because they are returning to their home country from the United States do not constitute a sufficiently particular social group to support an application for withholding of removal. (Gonzalez-Soto v. Lynch, 11/14/16)
AILA Comments on DHS's Retrospective Review of Existing Regulations
AILA provides comments in response to the request for information on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) retrospective review of existing regulations pursuant to Executive Order 13563, “Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,” issued by the President on January 18, 2011.
District Court Orders Government to Reform Immigration Bond Practices in Ruling on ACLU Lawsuit
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued a preliminary injunction ordering the federal government to implement reforms in their system for setting bail bonds to ensure that immigrants are not detained merely based on their poverty. (Hernandez v. Lynch, 11/10/16)
TRAC Releases Asylum Denial Rates for Each Immigration Court Judge
TRAC provides information on asylum denial rates for Immigration Court judges. This report consists of 268 separate reports and includes each Immigration Judge who decided at least 100 asylum cases between FY2011 and FY2016.
BIA Reopens Proceedings Following Grant of TPS
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings for respondent to seek administrative closure or other relief based on grant of TPS. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Euceda-Rueda, 11/10/16)
TRAC Report Demonstrates Immigration Court’s Rising Backlog
This TRAC report finds that during October 2016, the Immigration Court’s backlog rose by 5,645 cases, reaching a total of 521,676. In California, the backlog rose to a total of 95,801 cases as of October 31, 2016, representing the largest backlog among states in the country.
EOIR Expands LOP to Three Additional Detention Sites
EOIR announced the expansion of the Office of Legal Access Programs’ Legal Orientation Program (LOP) to three additional detention sites: Irwin County Detention Center, Polk County Detention Center (IAH Secure), and Rolling Plains Detention Center. There are now 41 LOP sites.
CA3 Says 18 USC §16(b)’s Definition of “Crime of Violence” Is Unconstitutionally Vague
Applying the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v. United States, the court held that the definition of a “crime of violence” provided in 18 USC §16(b) is void for vagueness under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. (Baptiste v. Att'y Gen., 11/8/16)
EOIR Swears in Five Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the investiture of five new immigration judges. After a thorough application process, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Kerri A. Calcador, Randall Wilson Duncan, Rico M. Sogocio, Karen M. Donoso Stevens, and Dean S. Tuckman to their new positions.
BIA Says Florida Conviction for Possession with Intent to Sell Is Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision finds that the respondent’s Florida conviction for possession with intent to sell a controlled substance does not constitute an “illicit trafficking” offense and thus is not a conviction for an aggravated felony. Courtesy of Patricia Cooper. (Matter of –, 11/8/16)
Minutes from AILA/CBP Field Operations Liaison Meeting (11/4/16)
AILA’s CBP Office of Field Operations (OFO) Liaison Committee provides unofficial minutes from a meeting with CBP OFO on 11/4/16. Topics include: EVUS, new I-94 website, TN/L-1 checklists, returning residents, ARO issues, unlawful presence, visa/I-94 revalidation, and transgender admissions.
CA8 Finds Petitioner Admitted as Refugee Not Entitled to Presumption of Well-Founded Fear of Persecution
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of the petitioner’s CAT claim, holding that the Haitian petitioner, who was originally admitted as a refugee, was not entitled to the presumption of a well-founded fear of persecution upon his return to Haiti. (Martine v. Lynch, 11/2/16)
CA2 Says ESTA Record Is Sufficient to Establish Waiver
The court held that an Electronic System for Travel Authorization record is sufficient evidence of waiver, and that petitioner waived his right to a hearing by submitting an ESTA application and entering the United States pursuant to the Visa Waiver Program. (Vasconcelos v. Lynch, 11/2/16)
EOIR FAQs on the Internet Immigration Information (I3)
EOIR FAQs, updated in November 2016, on the Internet Immigration Information (I3) suite of products, which includes EOIR’s electronic registry for attorneys and fully accredited representatives (eRegistry), electronic filing (eFiling), and electronic case information applications (eInfo).
AILA/USCIS Field Operations Directorate Liaison Q&As (11/1/16)
Official Q&As from the 11/1/16 AILA liaison meeting with USCIS Field Operations. Topics include staffing, processing times, interview-waiver cases, SIJ centralization, online filing of N-400s, field office SOPs, I-212s, advance parole adjudication, EB-5 processing times and follow up, and more.
BIA Says Fraud Waiver Cannot Waive Removability for CIMT Conviction Based on Underlying Fraud
The BIA held that a fraud waiver under INA §237(a)(1)(H) cannot waive a noncitizen’s removability under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(i) for having been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, even if the conviction is based on the underlying fraud. Matter of Tima, 26 I&N Dec. 839 (BIA 2016)
Shadow Prisons: Immigrant Detention in the South
The Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild and the Adelante Alabama Worker Center provides a report based on 300 in-person interviews with detainees that focuses on detention centers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana.
BIA Grants Exception to One-Year Deadline Based on Timing of Initial Master Calendar Hearing
Unpublished BIA decision finds respondent qualified for extraordinary circumstances exception due to hearing timing and that the proposed particular social group of "Salvadoran women unable to leave a domestic relationship" is cognizable. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of S-V-C-, 11/1/16)