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
Recent Decisions from 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and District Court Decisions (February 2016)
Summary of recent case law out of the Eleventh Circuit, courtesy of the AILA Georgia-Alabama and Central Florida Chapters. The information was compiled in February 2016 and should be used as a starting point in research.
EOIR Swears in Nine Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the investiture of nine immigration judges. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Xiomara DavisGumbs, Jennifer M. Gorland, Denise C. Hochul, Mark J. Jebson, Margaret M. Kolbe, Ramin Rastegar, Shifra Rubin, Meredith B. Tyrakoski, and Daniel H. Weiss to their new positions.
DOJ OIL February 2016 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for February 2016, with articles on Oxygene v. Lynch and Herrera v. Attorney General, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for February 2016.
BIA Grants Interlocutory Appeal to Allow Law Students to Appear at Hearing
Unpublished BIA decision grants interlocutory appeal of decisions denying motion to be represented by students at Cornell Law School during respondent’s individual hearing. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Rafael-Paz, 1/29/16)
BIA Reverses Denial of Joint Motion to Terminate to Adjust Before USCIS
Unpublished BIA decision reverses denial of joint motion to terminate to allow respondent to adjust status before USCIS, stating that lack of an approved visa petition was trumped by evidence of bona fides of the marriage. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Lopez, 1/29/16)
CA8 Finds Solicitation of Prostitution in Minnesota Is a CIMT
The court held that petitioner's conviction for soliciting prostitution in violation of Minnesota law was categorically a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT), and found that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying petitioner's motion to reopen. (Gomez-Gutierrez v. Lynch, 1/29/16)
CA1 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review Revocations of Visa Petition Approvals
The court joined seven other circuits in concluding that INA §242A(2)(B)(ii), which precludes judicial review of the Attorney General's and DHS Secretary's discretionary decisions, applies to the revocation of visa petition approvals under INA §205. (Bernardo v. Johnson, 1/29/16)
CA8 Says It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review Denial of VAWA Petitioner's Adjustment and Waiver Applications
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA's discretionary denial of the VAWA self-petitioner's adjustment of status and waiver of removal (fraud waiver) applications. (Mutie-Timothy v. Lynch, 1/28/16)
CARA: Central American Mothers Targeted in Immigration Raids and Still Detained Pen Letter to President Obama
Seven women picked up and detained by ICE in early January in widely publicized raids have made a direct and personal plea to President Obama to allow their release while they pursue ongoing appeals of their deportation orders.
CA6 Defers to BIA's Interpretation of “Sexual Abuse of a Minor”
The court upheld the BIA, finding that the Board permissibly interpreted “sexual abuse of a minor” as encompassing convictions for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor under California Penal Code §261.5(c). (Esquivel-Quintana v. Lynch, 1/15/16)
BIA Grants New Hearing After Attorney’s Computer Malfunctioned
Unpublished BIA decision orders new hearing to consider respondent’s adjustment application that the IJ deemed abandoned where a computer malfunction contributed to his attorney missing the filing deadline. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Castillo, 1/28/16)
Letter Revoking Berks County Residential Center’s Operating License
In this 1/27/16 letter, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Service informed DHS that it would not renew and would revoke the operating license for the Berks County Residential Facility, the immigration detention center that jails mothers and children in Leesport, PA.
ICE Information Collection on Electronic Bonds Online (eBonds) Access
ICE 60-day notice on an information collection for review on Form No. I-352SA/I-352RA; Electronic Bonds Online (eBonds) Access. Comments are due on 3/28/16. (81 FR 4332, 1/26/16)
CA8 Upholds Finding That Petitioner Falsely Represented Himself as a U.S. Citizen on a Form I-9
The court held that the BIA's finding that petitioner falsely represented himself as a U.S. citizen, and not a national, on a Form I-9 was supported by substantial evidence, and that this false claim of citizenship for employment was a non-waivable violation. (Godfrey v. Lynch, 1/22/16)
USCCR Statement on Stopping the ICE Raids Against Central American Refugees
On 1/22/16 the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released a statement urging President Obama and DHS Secretary Johnson calling for the "immediate end of the raids being carried out" by DHS and ICE against Central American refugees.
Senate Democrats Tell the President to End the Immigration Raids
A 1/21/16 Senate letter to President Obama demanding that the administration stop immigration home raids against Central American children and their families; and consider designating Guatemala, and re-designating El Salvador and Honduras for temporary protected status.
CA10 Finds Petitioner's Testimony Was Unpersuasive in Establishing Continuous Presence
The court upheld the BIA, finding that the petitioner was ineligible for cancellation of removal, because he failed to establish a ten-year continuous physical presence in the United States. (Gutierrez-Orozco v. Lynch, 1/21/16)
AILA Quicktake #153: Supreme Court Grants Cert in Texas v. United States
The American Immigration Council's Legal Director Melissa Crow discusses the Supreme Court's announcement to hear the case on President Obama's executive actions on expanded DACA and DAPA and looks to what to expect next.
TRAC Report Finds PEP Has Had Little Impact on ICE Detainer Use
A TRAC report found that the 7,117 detainers issued by ICE during October 2015 suggests that the Priority Enforcement Program (PEP), which replaced the Secure Communities program in June 2015, appears to have had only a modest impact on ICE's use of detainers.
CA9 Says Felony Child Abuse in California Is Not a Categorical a Crime of Violence
The court held that California’s felony child abuse statute does not qualify as a categorical crime of violence, and is not divisible. The court thus found that the petitioner's conviction under the statute did not constitute an aggravated felony. (Ramirez v. Lynch, 1/20/16)
TRAC Report Finds Criminal Immigration Prosecutions Have Fallen 22 Percent
A TRAC report found that, according to the most recent data from DOJ, the government reported 4,861 new immigration prosecutions during November 2015. This represents a drop of 13.2 percent from the previous month, and a decline of 22.3 percent from November 2014.
BIA Holds Company Conviction Cannot Be Attributed to Corporate Officer
Unpublished BIA decision finds that doctrine of piercing the corporate veil cannot be used to attribute a corporation’s conviction to a corporate officer who was never charged or convicted of a crime individually. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Gomez, 1/20/16)
BIA Finds Nevada Battery Conviction Is Not a Crime of Violence
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte upon finding that respondent’s conviction for attempted battery with substantial bodily harm under Nev. Rev. Stat. 200.481 was not categorically an aggravated felony crime of violence. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Alcivar, 1/19/16)
AILA Urges Supreme Court to Affirm Constitutionality of Executive Branch Immigration Powers
AILA President Victor Nieblas welcomes the Supreme Court’s decision to take up Texas vs. United States, noting that the final ruling “will go far beyond immigration. No single state should be empowered to thwart the federal government’s nationwide policy decisions.”
Seeking Remedies for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel in Immigration Cases
An American Immigration Council practice advisory on how individuals can seek a remedy for ineffective assistance of counsel in immigration court proceedings by filing a motion to reopen, including an overview on the right to effective assistance and the requirements in Matter of Lozada.