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
CA4 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Ethnic Hutu Alleged to Have Participated in Rwanda Genocide
The court denied the petition for review, finding that petitioner, an ethnic Hutu and citizen of Rwanda alleged to have participated in the Rwandan genocide, did not prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he was not subject to the “persecutor bar.” (Munyakazi v. Lynch, 7/11/16)
CA5 Says Texas Misdemeanor Assault Conviction Is Not a “Crime Involving Moral Turpitude”
The court vacated the BIA’s judgment and remanded, holding that petitioner’s prior Texas misdemeanor assault conviction did not qualify as a “crime involving moral turpitude” that rendered him ineligible for cancellation of removal. (Gomez-Perez v. Lynch, 7/11/16)
Department of the Treasury Notice on Immigration Bond Interest Rates
Department of the Treasury notice that for the period beginning 7/1/16 and ending 9/30/16, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Immigration Bond interest rate is 0.27 per centum per annum. (81 FR 44926, 7/11/16)
CA9 Says Guatemalan Petitioner Failed to Show a Reasonable Fear of Torture
The court upheld the IJ's decision affirming an asylum officer's negative reasonable fear determination, concluding that substantial evidence in the record supported the IJ's conclusion that the petitioner failed to demonstrate a reasonable fear of torture. (Andrade-Garcia v. Lynch, 7/7/16)
CA3 Says Petitioner’s Fraudulent Procurement of TPS Rendered Him Inadmissible
The court upheld the district court, holding that petitioner’s fraudulent procurement of TPS in 1992 made him inadmissible for LPR status, and because he had not been “lawfully admitted” for permanent residence, he could not be naturalized. (Saliba v. Att'y Gen., 7/8/16)
CA2 Finds Petitioner’s 1997 Pennsylvania Conviction Was a Controlled Substance Offense
The court held that petitioner’s 1997 conviction under a Pennsylvania statute was categorically a controlled substance offense, and dismissed the petition for review for lack of jurisdiction to review the removability order. (Collymore v. Lynch, 7/8/16)
CA8 Finds Asylum Applicant Failed to Show a Material Change in Country Conditions in Nigeria
The court held that petitioner’s motion to reopen was untimely due to her inability to show a material change in country conditions in Nigeria, which would have excused her from the 90-day time limitation for filing the motion. (Zeah v. Lynch, 7/8/16)
AILA Quicktake #170: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Flores Settlement
The American Immigration Council's Legal Director Melissa Crow shares details of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ affirmation of the Flores Settlement Agreement stating that the Obama administration's family detention practices violate that agreement.
CA3 Upholds Denial of Naturalization Application Due to Failure to Disclose Prior Removal Order
The court affirmed the lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the government, finding that the appellant failed to meet his burden of showing that he was lawfully admitted and was therefore not eligible for naturalization. (Koszelnik v. DHS Secretary, et al., 7/8/16)
CA6 Says INA's Residual Definition of “Crime of Violence” Is Unconstitutionally Vague
Applying the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v. United States, the court granted the petition for review, holding that the INA §1101(a)(43)(F)’s residential definition of “crime of violence” is void for vagueness. (Shuti v. Lynch, 7/7/16)
CA7 Says USCIS Erred in Evaluating Widow’s Request to Remove Permanent Residence Conditions
The court held that because USCIS mistakenly evaluated petitioner's request to remove the conditions on her permanent residence as a request for a waiver, it erroneously placed on petitioner the burden of proving that the marriage was bona fide. (Putro v. Lynch, 7/7/16)
CA4 Says “Virginia Forgery” Is an Aggravated Felony
The court denied the petition for review, concluding that “Virginia forgery” is an aggravated felony under the INA, because it is a categorical match with the federal generic definition of forgery. (Alvarez v. Lynch, 7/7/16)
Court Again Rules Against Federal Government’s Efforts to Detain Children
AILA and the American Immigration Council commented on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision affirming that the Flores Settlement Agreement governs the custody and release of all immigrant children, and that the Obama administration’s family detention practices violate that agreement.
CA9 Finds Serious Nonpolitical Crime Bar Rendered Salvadoran Congressman Deputy Ineligible for Asylum
The court denied a petition for review brought by a former Salvadoran professional soccer player and Salvadoran congressman’s deputy, holding that he was statutorily barred from asylum and withholding of removal relief under the serious nonpolitical crime bar. (Silva-Pereira v. Lynch, 7/7/16)
BIA Orders IJ To Consider Whether Respondent Is Admissible as B1/B2 Nonimmigrant
Unpublished BIA decision remands for IJ to consider whether respondent is admissible as B1/B2 nonimmigrant alien, notwithstanding that DHS cancelled his visa upon his arrival in the United States. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Suarez, 7/7/16)
Enforcement Off the Rails
There's been a lot of news coverage of the ICE raids, of the aggressive tactics used to arrest vulnerable families at their homes and to arrest children on the way to school. But what hasn't received as much coverage is the damage that raids victims endure after their arrest. Some remain trapped in
BIA Reverses IJ For Preventing Witnesses From Testifying
Unpublished BIA decision holds that IJ should have permitted witnesses to testify in support of registry application notwithstanding failure to submit declarations or summaries of witness testimony. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Galvan, 7/6/16)
CA9 Affirms That Family Detention Violates Flores Settlement Agreement
The court held that the Flores settlement agreement applies to both minors who are accompanied and unaccompanied by their parents, and that the lower court correctly refused to amend the agreement to accommodate family detention. (Flores v. Lynch, 7/6/16)
Immigration Law Advisor, May-June 2016 (Vol. 10, No. 4)
The May-June 2016 Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, includes an article on developments in civil detention, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions from April and May 2016 and BIA precedent decisions.
Know Your Rights Information for Asylum Seekers
To help families and individuals who recently entered the United States seeking refuge from violence and persecution, AILA offers information in English and Spanish on rights and responsibilities throughout the asylum process. Special thanks to Laura Lichter.
CA1 Finds Petitioner Failed to Satisfy Derivative Citizenship Statute Criteria
The court held that petitioner did not satisfy the applicable statutory criteria for obtaining derivative citizenship in consequence of his mother’s naturalization, which were set forth in the derivative citizenship statute in effect at the time he was still a minor. (Thomas v. Lynch, 7/5/16)
CA11 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review BIA’s Denial of Motion for Sua Sponte Reopening
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA’s denial of petitioner’s motion for sua sponte reopening, because petitioner had not raised any constitutional claims. (Butka v. Att'y Gen., 7/5/16)
BIA Chastises DHS in Reopening Proceedings Sua Sponte
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte based on approval of visa petition and states that numerous objections raised in DHS opposition were based on inaccurate assertions. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Awaye, 7/1/16)
DOJ OIL July 2016 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for July 2016, with articles on Shuti v. Lynch and EOIR’s proposed rule that would establish procedures for reopening cases based on ineffective assistance of counsel, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for July 2016.
BIA Notes DHS Concession That Pennsylvania Offense Is Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision remands record following concession by DHS that possession of marijuana with intent to deliver under 35 Pa. Cons. Stat. 780-113(a)(30) is not an aggravated felony under Moncrieffe v. Holder. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Stewart, 6/30/16)