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
District Court Overturns USCIS Finding of Marriage Fraud and I-130 Denial Affirmed by BIA
The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut held that it was an arbitrary and capricious abuse of discretion for USCIS to conclude that there was "substantial and probative evidence" of marriage fraud pursuant to INA §204(c). Courtesy of Justin Conlon.
CA9 Remands to BIA Where Petitioners Incurred Legal Expenses in Reliance on Pre-Briones Law
The court held that the petitioners could establish a legitimate reliance interest on pre-Briones law by showing they incurred legal expenses pursuing adjustment during the 21-month period between Acosta v. Gonzales and Matter of Briones. (Correo-Ruiz v. Lynch, 12/30/15)
BIA Finds Minnesota Domestic Assault Not a Crime of Violence
Unpublished BIA decision finds misdemeanor domestic violence assault under Minn. Stat. 609.2242 subdiv. 1(1) is not a crime of violence under 18 USC §16(a) because statute applies to harms caused by nonviolent means. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Santamaria, 12/30/15)
Practice Pointer: Escalating Requests for Prosecutorial Discretion
Practice pointer on how to seek review of a prosecutorial discretion denial by ICE HQ when attorney for the respondent believes that prosecutorial discretion is clearly warranted in the client’s case. Special thanks to the AILA ICE Liaison Committee.
BIA Vacates Removal Order Based on Allegation of Unlawful Voting
Unpublished BIA decision finds that neither a conviction for voter registration fraud under Va. Code 24.2-1016 nor a proffer to having voted in two unspecified elections demonstrated that respondent was removable under INA §237(a)(6). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Cundall, 12/29/15)
CA1 Finds Petitioner's Claim of Derivative Citizenship Under Former INA §321(a)(3) Failed
The court found that the petitioner, an LPR who had been convicted of a deportable offense, did not prove that his parents were common law spouses in Jamaica who legally separated within the meaning of former INA §321(a)(3) when they ceased cohabitation. (Thompson v. Lynch, 12/29/15)
CA9 Says Vehicle Theft in CA Is Not a CIMT
The en banc court remanded Matter of Almanza-Arenas to the BIA, holding that because the least of the acts criminalized under California Vehicle Code §10851(a) is a temporary taking, the statute is not categorically a crime involving moral turpitude. (Almanza-Arenas v. Lynch, 12/28/15)
Letter to USCIS and ICE Concerning Due Process Violations at Detention Facilities
Joint letter from AILA, the American Immigration Council, CLINIC, RAICES, and Human Rights First to USCIS and ICE concerning glaring due process violations which have led to the deportation of families with valid claims for asylum or other protection under U.S. law.
Denial of Due Process to Incarcerated Immigrant Families Worsens in Spite of Court Ruling
Attorneys and advocates called the government to account for rushing detained children and mothers through the legal processes designed to protect them from danger; glaring due process violations have led to the deportation of families with valid claims for asylum or other protection under U.S. law.
CA1 Limits Attorney General’s Discretion to Use Mandatory Detention Provision
The court affirmed the district court, holding that the bar to bonded release found in the detention mandate applies only to those specified criminal noncitizens whom the Attorney General took into custody when they were released from criminal custody. (Castañeda v. Souza, 12/23/15)
CA8 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Honduran Petitioner Found Not to Be Credible
The court found that the IJ and the BIA did not err in finding that the petitioner's testimony was not credible in light of the numerous contradictions and inconsistencies in her evidence that went to the heart of her asylum claim. (Rodriguez-Mercado v. Lynch, 12/23/15)
CA7 Remands for Reconsideration of CAT Eligibility of Mexican Petitioner with Ties to Drug Cartel
The court granted the motion to remand for reconsideration of petitioner’s eligibility for deferral of removal under CAT, stating that petitioner, who contended that he would be killed by a drug cartel if removed to Mexico, appeared to have a strong case. (Mendoza-Sanchez v. Lynch, 12/23/15)
AILA’s Take On Immigration Enforcement
This AILA backgrounder provides information on ICE’s enforcement data that reflects a decreased in removal numbers in FY2015 compared to last year’s numbers, as well as context on the major factors that contribute to the shift.
DHS Releases FY2015 CBP Border Security Report
DHS released report summarizing CBP’s FY2015 enforcement efforts at and between ports of entry, border technology and investment, and transparency and accountability. Border Patrol apprehensions totaled 337,117 nationwide in FY2015, compared to 486,651 in FY2014.
DHS Releases FY2015 ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Report
DHS released report summarizing ICE’s enforcement and removal operations during FY2015, including the impact of civil immigration enforcement priorities, non-criminal removals, state and local law enforcement, decreased illegal migration and CBP apprehensions, and changing migration demographics.
CA9 Upholds Denial of Asylum to North Korean Found to Be "Firmly Resettled" in South Korea
The court held that 22 USC §7842, which states that a North Korean national “shall not be considered” a South Korean national for refugee and asylum purposes, does not preclude a finding that a North Korean has “firmly resettled” in South Korea. (Jang v. Lynch, 12/22/15)
CA10 Says Possession of Stolen Vehicles in Oklahoma Is Categorically a CIMT
The court affirmed BIA’s determination that petitioner was removable because his conviction for possession of stolen vehicles under Oklahoma law is a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT), but held that he was eligible to apply for a discretionary waiver. (Obregon de Leon v. Lynch, 12/22/15)
EOIR Notice With Correction to 8 CFR Part 1245
EOIR notice with a correction to 8 CFR Part 1245, on “adjustment of status to that of person admitted for permanent residence.” (80 FR 79460, 12/22/15)
DHS Releases End-of-Year Statistics for FY2015
DHS announced the release of its end-of-year statistics for FY2015, including reports from ICE and CBP. In FY2015, ICE removed or returned a total 235,413 individuals, and CBP made 337,117 apprehensions nationwide.
Immigration Law Advisor, November-December 2015 (Vol. 9, No. 10)
The November-December 2015 Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, includes with an article asylum claims filed by artists, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions from October and November 2015, A.G. precedent decisions, and BIA precedent decisions.
CA9 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Resolve Citizenship Claim Absent Final Removal Order
Where the BIA vacated the IJ's order terminating removal proceedings and remanded to the IJ, the court held that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the petitioner's derivative citizenship claim, because there was no final order of removal. (Viloria v. Lynch, 12/21/15)
District Court Awards $125,000 in Attorneys' Fees in Class Action Suit over Conditional Parole
The court finalized a settlement agreement providing that DOJ will pay a class of immigrants $125,000 in attorneys' fees to close out a lawsuit alleging that the IJs in the Seattle and Tacoma immigration courts uniformly denied requests for conditional parole. (Rivera v. Lynch, 12/18/15)
IJ Finds CA Firearms Conviction Is Not a Removable Offense Under INA §237(a)(2)(C)
The court held that the respondent's conviction for Carrying a Loaded Firearm in violation of California law did not constitute a firearms offense described in INA §237(a)(2)(C) that would render him ineligible for cancellation of removal. Courtesy of Brian Blackford.
Amicus Brief Filed with First Circuit on Interpretation of Modified Categorical Approach
Amicus filed by several organizations, including Immigrant Defense Project and AILA, in Peralta Sauceda v. Lynch. The brief argues that, when the record of a prior conviction is ambiguous, the conviction does not disqualify a noncitizen from cancellation of removal as a matter of law.
CA6 Upholds Denial of Withholding for “Wealthy” Mexican Petitioner
The court held that the petitioner's proposed social group, “persons who are perceived to have money or access to money due to having spent a significant amount of time in and having familial ties to the United States,” was not cognizable under the INA. (Sanchez-Robles v. Lynch, 12/17/15)