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
AILA Quicktake #154: Fair Day in Court for Kids Act Introduced
AILA's Director of Advocacy Greg Chen shares details on the bill introduced in the Senate that would provide access to counsel to children, families, and other vulnerable populations facing deportation. He also discusses hearings on EB-5 and AILA's upcoming National Day of Action.
Section-By-Section Summary of Senate Bill: Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2016
A section-by-section summary of the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2016 introduced by Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) on 2/11/16. The bill would mandate that unaccompanied children and vulnerable immigrants receive legal representation.
Audio from Telebriefing on Access to Counsel - A Critical Need for Immigrant Children, Families, Asylum Seekers
AILA hosted a telebriefing for press for a discussion of the “Fair Day in Court for Kids Act” legislation and next steps.
CA1 Says Petitioner Failed to Show He Entered into Marriage in Good Faith
The court held that the decisions of the IJ and the BIA concluding that petitioner failed to carry his burden of proof to establish that his marriage was bona fide were supported by substantial evidence. (Valdez v. Lynch, 2/10/16)
Handwritten Letter from Thirty Mothers Held at Berks Family Detention Center
Thirty mothers detained with their children at the Berks Family Detention Center wrote a letter to the media pleading for their freedom; the letter is in Spanish, an English translation is available.
Families Detained for Months on End Plead for Their Freedom
Thirty mothers detained with their children at the Berks Family Detention Center in Pennsylvania wrote a letter to the media pleading for their freedom. The mothers write that they came to the U.S. seeking refuge, and that they want their prolonged and cruel detention to be known.
New Mexico Senators Urge the President to Suspend Removals of Central American Families
On 2/10/16, Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico asked President Obama to suspend immigration removal actions against children and families from Central America.
Senate Resolution Regarding Operation Streamline
On 2/10/16, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs voted in favor of the resolution in an 8 to 7 vote.
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Due to Erroneous Legal Advice
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order where attorney erroneously advised respondent not to attend hearing because he had submitted a motion to change venue. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Cun, 2/10/16)
Eight of Twelve Families Targeted by ICE Have Been Released
After being held in detention for more than a month by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), eight families rounded up by ICE at the beginning of January have finally been released from detention while their cases proceed.
BIA Says Endangering the Welfare of a Child in New York Is Categorically a Crime of Child Abuse
The BIA held that the crime of endangering the welfare of a child in violation of §260.10(1) of the New York Penal Law is categorically a "crime of child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment" under INA §237(a)(2)(E)(i). Matter of Mendoza Osorio, 26 I&N Dec. 703 (BIA 2016)
CA6 Says It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review BIA Removal Order Where Appeal Was Filed After 30 Days
Where the BIA had remanded the record for the sole purpose of allowing petitioner to apply for voluntary departure, the court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA's 2013 removal order, because that decision was “final” for the purposes of appellate review. (Hih v. Lynch, 2/9/16)
BIA Reverses Adverse Credibility Finding in Domestic Violence Asylum Case
Unpublished BIA decision reverses the IJ’s adverse credibility determination and remands to assess whether the respondent, a victim of domestic violence, established past persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of membership in a PSG. Special thanks to Thomas E. Fulghum.
Public Law 114-119, Megan's Law
Public Law 114-119, International Megan's Law to Prevent Child Exploitation and Other Sexual Crimes Through Advanced Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders, signed on 2/8/16 by President Obama, expanded the definition of specified offense against a minor under the Adam Walsh Act.
Case Stories Needed for SCOTUS Amicus on Categorical Approach
Immigration advocacy organizations seek stories to include in an amicus brief in Mathis v. United States, a categorical approach case likely to decide what renders a statute of conviction divisible and subject to modified categorical approach for determining immigration consequences.
AILA Statement to House Judiciary on Protecting Children, Families, and Other Border Arrivals
AILA submitted a statement to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security for the 2/4/16 hearing “Another Surge of Illegal Immigrants Along the Southwest Border: Is This the Obama Administration's New Normal?”
Immigration Law Advisor, January 2016 (Vol. 10, No. 1)
The January 2016 Immigration Law Advisor includes with an article on competency issues in removal proceedings, as well as summaries of circuit court and BIA precedent decisions from December 2015 and statistics on decisions from 2015 including reversals and remands over the last 10 years.
EOIR Immigration Court Closings for 2016
EOIR alert that due to the inclement weather, the Omaha and Bloomington Immigration Courts will open at 10:00 am.
CA7 Upholds Discretionary Decision to Deny Extreme Hardship Waiver to Bosnian Refugee
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA's discretionary decision to deny a waiver to the petitioner, a Bosnian refugee who obtained refugee status by fraud, on the ground that his removal would cause extreme hardship for his U.S. citizen wife. (Jankovic v. Lynch, 2/3/16)
EOIR Revises Docketing Practices Related to Certain Priority Cases
EOIR released a memorandum, titled Revised Docketing Practices Relating to Certain EOIR Priority Cases, to provide guidance to immigration judges regarding changes to the agency docketing priorities since the 7/18/14 announcement regarding new priority case groups.
BIA Recognizes DHS Discretion Not to Reinstate Prior Order
Unpublished BIA decision says DHS has “unreviewable prosecutorial discretion” to place respondents who would otherwise be subject to reinstatement of a prior order in proceedings before an IJ. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Estrada, 2/3/16)
CA8 Finds IJ Did Not Commit Fundamental Error by Failing to Inform Petitioner About Asylum
The court found that, under the circumstances presented, the IJ did not commit a fundamental procedural error by failing to inform the petitioner about asylum or other possible avenues of relief, and thus that there was no due process violation. (Alva-Arellano v. Lynch, 2/2/16)
CA11 Says House Arrest Constitutes Confinement Under the INA
The court held that petitioner's sentence for a burglary offense to one year of house arrest, imposed as a special condition of a five-year sentence of probation, constituted confinement that qualified as a term of imprisonment of at least one year. (Herrera v. Att'y Gen., 2/2/16)
CA9 Finds Two Drug Possession Counts Qualified as Single Offense Under FFOA
The court held that IJ erred in concluding that petitioner’s two drug possession counts barred him from first offender treatment under the Federal First Offender Act (FFOA), finding that the two convictions amounted to a single “offense” under the FFOA. (Villavicencio-Rojas v. Lynch, 2/2/16)
CA9 Finds AG's Regulation on Substitute Beneficiaries Under INA §245(i) Is Reasonable
The court held that INA §245(i) is ambiguous as to substitute beneficiaries, and that an AG regulation restricting grandfathered status for labor certification beneficiaries substituted after the statute's sunset date is a reasonable interpretation of the statute. (Valencia v. Lynch, 2/2/16)