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 Dismisses DHS Interlocutory Appeal Involving SIJS
Unpublished BIA decision declines to consider interlocutory DHS appeal challenging administrative closure pending adjudication of visa petition for SIJ status. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of R-L-O-H-, 9/19/16)
CRS Report on Syrian Refugee Admissions and Resettlement in the United States
A Congressional Research Service report details the U.S. refugee admissions process and the placement and resettlement of arriving refugees in the United States.
DOJ Notice of Public Meeting of ICE Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers
DOJ notice that the ICE Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers (ACFRC) will meet in Washington, DC on 10/7/16 to discuss ACFRC subcommittee reports and vote on potential recommendations. The meeting will be open to the public, and registration is required. (81 FR 63784, 9/16/16)
BIA Vacates Finding of Removability Based on Plea Under People v. West
Unpublished BIA decision vacates finding that conviction was an aggravated felony where complaint only recited statutory language and respondent entered plea under People v. West and did not plead guilty “as charged.” Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ponce-Zacarias, 9/16/16)
BIA Says INA §101(a)(43)(G) Encompasses Extortionate Takings
The BIA held that a “theft offense” under INA §101(a)(43)(G), which requires the taking of property “without consent,” includes extortionate takings, in which consent is coerced by the wrongful use of force, fear, or threats. Matter of Ibarra, 26 I&N Dec. 809 (BIA 2016)
TRAC Report Finds Priority Cases Overwhelm Immigration Court’s Capacity to Handle
This TRAC report finds that, as of the end of August 2016, the number of IJs continues to prove insufficient to handle the growing backlog in the immigration courts, particularly for priority cases like those involving UACs and women with children, which account for 31% of the court’s backlog.
Solicitor General Apologizes to the Supreme Court, Again
The moral of this blog post is two-fold. First, stranger things have happened, and second, do not believe everything someone tells you because just saying it does not make it so. On August 26, 2016, Acting Solicitor General Ian Heath Gershengorn penned a letter to the Honorable Clerk of the Supreme
CA9 Finds Petitioner Listed as Derivative on NACARA Application Was Not “Admitted in Any Status”
The court held that a cancellation of removal applicant has not been “admitted in any status” for purposes of establishing the requisite residency by virtue of being listed as a derivative beneficiary on a parent’s applications for asylum and relief under NACARA. (Fuentes v. Lynch, 9/14/16)
CA8 Upholds Adverse Credibility Determination Based on Inconsistencies in Petitioner’s Asylum Interview
The court held that the IJ identified, and the BIA adopted, specific, cogent reasons for making an adverse credibility determination as to the petitioner that were supported by substantial evidence. (Chakhov v. Lynch, 9/14/16)
TRAC Report on Individuals Released on Bond in Immigration Court Proceedings
This TRAC report finds that court records so far demonstrate that the release on bond of increasing numbers of individuals in immigration court proceedings has not resulted in any significant increase in those who abscond and fail to show up for their immigration hearings.
CA8 Upholds Denial of Withholding of Removal to Guatemalan Brothers
The court upheld the BIA’s finding that petitioners’ family was no different from any other Guatemalan family who has experienced gang violence, and that there was no evidence petitioners’ mistreatment was associated with their membership in a social group. (Cambara-Cambara v. Lynch, 9/13/16)
USCIS Performance Data on DACA Applications Through Third Quarter of FY2016
USCIS statistics on I-821D DACA applications, broken down by intake (accepted and rejected), biometrics, case status (received, approved, denied, or pending), and whether the application was an initial or renewal application for FY2012 through FY2016. FY2016 data is broken down by quarter.
USCIS Update on DACA Renewal Requests
USCIS posted an update on its website stating that its current goal is to process DACA renewal requests within 120 days, and that DACA applicants whose renewal requests have been pending for more than 105 days may contact USCIS.
CA1 Finds Appellant’s False Health Care Claim Caused More Than $10,000 in Losses
Applying the circumstance-specific approach of Nijhawan v. Holder, the court affirmed USCIS’s determination that appellant’s false health care claim caused more than $10,000 in losses, and thus upheld the denial of appellant’s naturalization application. (Nanje v. Chaves, 9/9/16)
CRS Report on Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 114th Congress
A Congressional Research Service report examines immigration-related issues that have received legislative action or are of significant congressional interest in the 114th Congress.
DHS Updates 8 CFR to Correct Outdated References
DHS final rule amending 8 CFR to update various outdated references, including provisions listing specific immigration officials authorized to perform various functions that did not reflect the current DHS structure. (81 FR 62353, 9/9/16)
BIA Clarifies Prior Decision in Matter of Guzman-Polanco
The BIA held that controlling circuit court law should be followed regarding the question of whether conduct such as the use or threatened use of poison to injure another person involves sufficient "force" to constitute a crime of violence. Matter of Guzman-Polanco, 26 I&N Dec. 806 (BIA 2016)
CA7 Finds BIA Did Not Err in Declining to Reopen IJ’s Removal Order of Iraqi Petitioner
The court held that neither the BIA nor the IJ erred in determining that the BIA could, and did, order only a partial remand of petitioner’s case, and that petitioner had no constitutional right to procedural due process as to discretionary relief under INA §212(c). (Turkhan v. Lynch, 9/9/16)
CA8 Remands to Consider Whether Petitioner’s Burglary Conviction Is an Aggravated Felony
The court granted the government’s motion to remand to the BIA for consideration in the first instance of whether the petitioner’s prior conviction for second-degree burglary in Minnesota constitutes an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(G). (Xiong v. Lynch, 9/8/16)
BIA Says IJs Cannot Adjudicate Section 212(d)(3)(A)(ii) Waiver by Petitioner for U Status
The BIA held that IJs do not have authority to adjudicate a request for a waiver of inadmissibility under INA §212(d)(3)(A)(ii) by a petitioner for U nonimmigrant status. Matter of Khan, 26 I&N Dec. 797 (BIA 2016)
AILA Immigration Policy Update – “Catch and Release”
AILA issued an immigration policy update on “catch and release,” an unofficial term for the government practice that ended in 2006, where people apprehended at the border were released from detention while their cases were waiting to be heard before the immigration court.
CRS Report on Criminal Alien Programs
A Congressional Research Service report discusses DHS programs targeting criminal noncitizens, including the Criminal Alien Program, the Priority Enforcement Program, the §287(g) Program, and the National Fugitive Operations Program, as well as policy issues.
OIG Report: Potentially Ineligible Individuals Have Been Granted U.S. Citizenship Because of Incomplete Fingerprint Records
DHS’s Office of Inspector General released a report finding that USCIS granted U.S. citizenship to at least 858 individuals ordered deported or removed under another identity when, during the naturalization process, their digital fingerprint records were not available.
EOIR Notice on November 2016 Deadline for List of Pro Bono Legal Service Providers
EOIR reminder that 11/30/16 is the deadline to reapply for inclusion on the List of Pro Bono Legal Service Providers. EOIR automatically transferred all organizations that were on the former list and any organization that has not applied by the deadline will be removed in January 2017.
USCIS Accepts Ombudsman’s Recommendation to Adopt Parole Policy for U Visa Petitioners and Family Members
The CIS Ombudsman’s Office notified stakeholders that USCIS has agreed with the Ombudsman’s recommendation to implement a parole policy for U visa petitioners and qualifying family members who live abroad. USCIS will implement this policy when a new form and policy guidance are completed in FY2017.