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
AIM: The Benefits of DACA
In AILA's April Interview of the Month, DACA recipient and paralegal Alex Alvarado shares his story of how deferred action has impacted his life and why events like AILA's National Day of Action are important to continuing to push for immigration reform.
CA5 Upholds Determination That Salvadoran Is Not Eligible to Adjust Status
The court upheld the BIA’s determination that the Salvadoran petitioner could not adjust his status to permanent resident, because he had not presented evidence sufficient to show that he had been lawfully admitted to the United States. (Gomez v. Lynch, 4/20/16)
Supreme Court Rules on Incorrect Use of Sentencing Guidelines in Illegal Re-Entry Case
The U.S. Supreme Court held that courts reviewing the use of an incorrect Guidelines range cannot apply a categorical "additional evidence" rule where a district court applied an incorrect range but sentenced the defendant within the correct range. (Molina-Martinez v. United States, 4/20/16)
BIA Orders Further Consideration of Continuance Denied During Off-the-Record Conversation
Unpublished BIA decision remands for further consideration and issuance of a written decision regarding a request for a continuance that the immigration judge denied during an off-the-record conversation. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Paz-Ochoa, 4/20/16)
CA11 Upholds Asylum Denial to Former Member of Honduran Gang
The court upheld the BIA's conclusion that the petitioner, a former member of the Mara-18 gang in Honduras, was not a member of a “particular social group” entitled to protection under INA §241(b)(3). (Gonzalez v. Att’y Gen., 4/19/16)
TRAC Report Find that In Six States, Immigration Relief Takes Over 1,000 Days on Average
A TRAC report found that despite the appointment of new immigration judges, the March 2016 Immigration Court backlog reached 486,206 pending cases. In FY2016, being granted relief took an average of more than 1,000 days in six states: New York, Arizona, Illinois, Nevada, California, and Ohio.
In the Balance: Backlogs Delay Protection in the U.S. Asylum and Immigration Court Systems
Human Rights First examines the impact that systemic delays in both the USCIS Asylum Division and the immigration courts have on the integrity of the U.S. immigration system and on asylum seekers and their families. It also offers solutions for eliminating the backlogs and lessening delays.
Webcast with the Experts: United States v. Texas
Watch AILA’s Director of Advocacy Greg Chen, American Immigration Council’s Legal Director Melissa Crow, and UCLA School of Law Professor Hiroshi Motomura as they recap and offer expert analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments in the United States v. Texas case.
Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Executive Branch’s Immigration Powers
AILA President Victor Nieblas Pradis commented on the oral arguments heard today in United States v. Texas noting, “AILA is confident that on the law and facts at issue in this case, it is increasingly clear that there is ample authority and precedent for the president to take these steps.”
Educational Materials on United States v. Texas
The Committee for Immigration Reform Implementation (CIRI) partners have developed flyers that stakeholders can use to share information about United States v. Texas with the public. Please feel free to download, customize, and use these flyers.
BIA Remands Where Respondent's Proposed Social Group Is "Working Class, Single Women in Michoacán"
Unpublished BIA decision remands where the lead respondent claimed that her children would be more vulnerable to gang recruitment due to her status as a single woman without male support and a lack of adequate parental supervision, which would amount to persecution of her as their parent.
CA9 Affirms Denaturalization Order Where Appellant Conspired to Commit Visa Fraud
Unpublished CA9 decision affirms the district court's ruling that the naturalization of the appellant, who pled guilty to conspiracy to commit visa fraud, should be revoked, because he lacked good moral character in the five years prior to naturalization. (United States v. Olivar, 4/18/16)
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Due to Erroneous Advice of Legal Assistant
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia removal order in light of erroneous advice given by respondent’s prior attorney’s legal assistant that his hearing date would automatically be changed upon his release on bond. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Iracheta, 4/18/16)
CA5 Finds Delaware Aggravated Menacing Conviction Is Crime of Violence Under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines
The court found that the district court did not err in applying a twelve-level enhancement under the United States Sentencing Guidelines Manual, holding that defendant’s 2004 Delaware conviction for aggravated menacing qualified as a crime of violence. (United States v. Ovalle-Chun, 4/15/16)
CA1 Says Six-Month Detention Pursuant to INA §236(c) Is Not Presumptively Unreasonable
The court rejected the petitioner's argument that INA §236(c) authorizes mandatory detention only up to six months, holding that an individualized review of mandatory detention cases is necessary in order to determine whether the detention has become unreasonable. (Reid v. Donelan, 4/13/16)
New Data on 637 Detention Facilities Used by ICE in FY2015
TRAC provided a report with an overview of ICE's custody system and on each detention facility. The database on which these reports are based using the stay-by-stay records from each detention facility that at least one individual entered, left, or stayed at during FY2015.
Oral Arguments in United States v. Texas
On Monday, April 18, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in United States v. Texas. Find information on the oral arguments and visiting the Supreme Court.
TRAC Report Analyzes Data on 637 Detention Facilities Used by ICE in FY2015
A TRAC report found that ICE released a total of 325,209 individuals from its custody in FY2015, 55% of whom were released for deportation. The total number of individuals "booked out" from 637 ICE detention facilities during FY2015 was 699,268; 374,059 of those were transferred among facilities.
Defending DAPA and Expanded DACA Before the Supreme Court: A Guide to United States v. Texas
The American Immigration Council provides a guide with brief answers to common questions about United States v. Texas, including what is at stake in the case, how the litigation began, what the contested issues are, and the impact the case may have on the United States.
CA6 Remands Petition of Mexican Citizen to BIA Solely for Reconsideration of Voluntary-Departure Determination
The court remanded the petition to the BIA for further consideration of its voluntary-departure determination, but upheld the BIA’s denial of the petitioner’s applications for withholding of removal and CAT relief. (Amezola-Garcia v. Lynch, 4/11/16)
BIA Reopens In Absentia Order in Light of Decisions Striking Down DOMA
Unpublished BIA decision reopens in absentia order sua sponte in light of intervening Supreme Court and BIA decisions removing the Defense of Marriage Act as a bar to the recognition of same-sex marriages. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Alves-Leal, 4/8/16)
CA10 Upholds Asylum Denial Where Burmese Petitioner Claimed Persecution Based on Political Opinion
The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in finding that petitioner, a Burmese citizen seeking relief based on persecution for his political opinions, was not credible, and that its discretionary decision to deny asylum was not arbitrary and capricious. (Htun v. Lynch, 4/8/16)
EOIR Releases FY2015 Statistics Yearbook
EOIR released its FY2015 statistics yearbook with data on cases before immigration courts, BIA, and OCAHO, as well as appeals of IJ decisions to the BIA. The data includes information on respondents’ cases by naturalization, language, and disposition, and provides asylum case information.
CA7 Rejects Pro Se Petitioner's Argument That He Was Denied Representation by Counsel
The court held that the petitioner was afforded due process, because the IJ complied with INA §240(b)(4) by informing the petitioner of his right to obtain counsel, and offered repeatedly to continue the case to allow him to obtain representation. (Estrada-Hernandez v. Lynch, 4/8/16)
AILA DOS Liaison Q&As (4/7/16)
DOS responses to AILA/DOS liaison Q&As from 4/7/16 addressing questions relating to communicating with consular posts, visa revocation policy including DUI-related revocations, alien smuggling, Blanket L endorsement, annotation, and validity issues, NVC deficiency notices, and visa modernization.