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
Practice Pointer: I-751 Waiver Strategies
AILA’s VSC Liaison Committee provides a practice pointer addressing strategies for filing a I-751 petition in cases in which the applicant is separated or divorced from the petitioning spouse, or if the applicant is in removal proceedings or has a final order of removal.
EOIR Swears in Eight Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the investiture of eight immigration judges. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Raisa Cohen, Evalyn P. Douchy, D’Anna H. Freeman, Rebecca B. Jamil, Elise M. Manuel, R. Reid McKee, Vernon B. Miles, and Morris I. Onyewuchi to their new positions.
CA6 Finds DHS Cannot Reopen Case Against Bangladeshi Asylum Grantee
The court held that BIA abused its discretion in granting DHS’s motion to reopen, finding that documents proffered by DHS allegedly showing petitioner’s story to be fraudulent were previously available and could have been discovered at petitioner’s prior hearing. (Sakhawati v. Lynch, 3/14/16)
H. Res. 639: Authorizing the Speaker to Appear in United States v. Texas
House Resolution 639 authorized the Speaker to appear as amicus curiae on behalf of the House of Representatives in the matter of United States v. Texas.
CA3 Finds NTA Omitting Statutorily Required Information Did Not Trigger "Stop Time" Rule
The court held that service of an NTA that lacked specificity as to date and time of petitioner's removal proceedings did not discontinue petitioner's residency period for purposes of the “stop-time” rule. (Orozco-Velasquez v. Att'y Gen., 3/11/16)
Letter to Director Rodríguez on USCIS Processing Delays
A 3/11/16 letter from AILA to USCIS Director León Rodríguez, expressing concerns over significant backlogs in processing a variety of applications and petitions for immigration benefits, and a lack of transparency communicating current processing times to the public.
AILA: Federal Government Continues Unnecessarily Harsh Enforcement Tactics Harming Families and Communities
AILA President Victor Nieblas stated, “DHS enforcement policies involving women and children seeking asylum at our borders violate due process, repudiate our fundamental values of fairness and justice, and have sown widespread fear and turmoil in communities, schools, and churches nationwide.”
USCIS Provides Guidance on Processing Affirmative Applications (Form I-589) Filed by Applicants in Expedited Removal and Processing Credible Fear Case
USCIS released a memorandum with procedures for processing affirmative asylum applications (Form I-589) filed by individuals in expedited removal and for processing credible fear cases for individuals who are in expedited removal and who are not in immigration detention (non-detained).
BIA Rules on Requirements to Adjust Status Under the Legalization Provisions of INA §245A
The BIA held that a noncitizen seeking to acquire LPR status through INA §245A must establish admissibility both at the time of the initial application for temporary resident status and when applying for adjustment to permanent resident status. Matter of Villalobos, 26 I&N Dec. 719 (BIA 2016)
CA9 Holds Conviction for Written Perjury in CA Is Not a CIMT
Applying the modified categorical approach, the court held that petitioner's conviction for written perjury under California law did not constitute a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). (Rosales Rivera v. Lynch, 3/10/16)
BIA Reverses Finding That DHS Rebutted Respondent’s Presumption of a Well-Founded Fear
Unpublished BIA decision reversed the IJ’s finding that a fundamental change in circumstances had occurred in Togo such that would rebut the presumed well-founded fear of persecution of an asylum applicant who had suffered past persecution. Courtesy of Charles Ellison.
Q&As from AILA Meeting with USCIS Transformation (3/9/16)
Questions and answers from the AILA meeting with USCIS Transformation on 3/9/16. Topics include attorney interface with ELIS, technical assistance, new developments, Form I-90, USCIS Immigrant Fee, and statistics on ELIS usage by both pro se applicants and attorney represented applicants.
Statement By Secretary Jeh Johnson on Southwest Border Security in February 2016
In this statement, DHS Secretary Johnson comments on the number of apprehensions on the southwest border in February 2016. The statement also outlines steps being taken by DHS to manage unaccompanied minors, “Operation Border Guardian,” repatriation, and the Refugee Admissions Program.
Amicus Brief Filed By 326 Organizations in United States v. Texas Urging Supreme Court to Lift Injunction Against DAPA/DACA
AILA joined the American Immigration Council and 324 other immigration, civil rights, and community groups in an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to lift the preliminary injunction blocking the implementation of DAPA and expanded DACA, President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.
AILA Joins Brief Urging Supreme Court to Uphold Executive Branch’s Immigration Powers
AILA joined a multitude of stakeholders urging the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm the executive branch’s authority over immigration issues; oral arguments in the case, United States vs. Texas, are scheduled for April 18, 2016, and a decision is expected later in June 2016.
Sign-On Letter Opposing Amendment to Eliminate Protections for Unaccompanied Children
On 3/8/16, AILA signed on to a letter opposing Senator John McCain’s (R-AZ) Amendment No. 3407, which would eliminate protections for unaccompanied children by stripping away critical protections in the TVPRA of 2008 for all unaccompanied children arriving in the United States.
BIA Orders Further Consideration of Motion to Suppress
Unpublished BIA decision remands for further consideration of motion to suppress where arresting officer did not testify at hearing and IJ failed to address whether officer had valid basis to hold respondent after initial stop. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Velazco, 3/8/16)
AILA Comments on Revisions to Form I-131, Application for Travel Document
AILA provides comments in response to the USCIS 60-Day notice and request for comments on proposed revisions to Form I-131 and accompanying instructions.
CA1 Says Stop-Time Rule Applies to All Orders to Show Cause
The court concluded that the stop-time rule applies to all Orders to Show Cause (OSCs), regardless of the date of issue, and irrespective of whether deportation proceedings were pending or final on April 1, 1997. (Santos-Quiroa v. Lynch, 3/5/16)
Letter from Atlanta Area Educator to Secretary Jeh Johnson to Support Kimberly
Letter dated 3/4/16 from educator with 24 years of experience supporting Kimberly Pineda Chavez and describing how afraid her students now are because of the recent ICE raids.
AILA Quicktake #158: DACA at Year Three
American Immigration Council's Director of Policy Beth Werlin shares details of a report released by the Council, DACA at Year Three, which looks at the challenges and opportunities in accessing higher education and employment for DACA recipients.
CA10 Says Petitioner's Utah Conviction for Unlawful Sexual Activity with a Minor Is Not an Aggravated Felony
The court held that a conviction under Utah’s “unlawful sexual activity with a minor” statute does not fall categorically within the INA’s generic “sexual abuse of a minor” offense, and thus does not qualify as an aggravated felony under the INA. (Rangel-Perez v. Lynch, 3/1/16)
DOJ OIL March/April 2016 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for March/April 2016, with articles on Ledezma-Cosino v. Lynch and Gonzalez v. Attorney General, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for March/April 2016.
ICE Notice of Federal Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers Meeting
ICE notice of a federal Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers meeting on 3/16/16 in San Antonio, TX, to brief committee members on ICE’s family residential centers and to review and assess the committee tasking. (81 FR 10267, 2/29/16)
GAO Report Finding Additional Actions are Needed to Strengthen Management and Oversight of Detainee Medical Care
GAO reviewed ICE data and information on costs, detention population, standards, and oversight for 165 facilities that held detainees for more than 72 hours in FY2015 and made recommendations on how to strengthen management and oversight of detainee medical care.