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
CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project Succeeds in Winning Stays of Deportation of Four Mothers and Their Children Recently Rounded-Up by ICE
Last night, the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project succeeded in halting the deportation of four Central American families apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the weekend, who had been scheduled for deportation this morning.
AILA and the Council Letter to DHS Secretary Johnson on Raids Targeting Central American Families
On 1/6/16, AILA and the Council requested a meeting with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson to discuss the agency’s current aggressive tactics to apprehend and deport Central American families.
After Successfully Delaying the Deportations of Four Central American Families, Groups Demand Meeting with DHS Secretary Johnson
AILA and the American Immigration Council sent a letter to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson criticizing raids to remove asylum-seeking Central American families and calling for a meeting to discuss how to guarantee due process and the necessary humanitarian protections for those families.
CA8 Upholds Finding That Petitioner's Fear of Future Persecution Was Not Objectively Reasonable
The court upheld the IJ and the BIA's denial of asylum to the Nicaraguan petitioner, finding that the petitioner failed to establish that his fear of future persecution was objectively reasonable. (Castillo-Gutierrez v. Lynch, 1/5/16)
DHS Statement on Southwest Border Security
DHS released a statement on border security, with information on a nationwide enforcement operation by ICE to remove families and unaccompanied children where 121 individuals were taken into custody, primarily from Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina. Release outlines additional efforts being taken.
AILA Condemns Raids on Vulnerable Central American Families
AILA President Victor Nieblas Pradis condemned reports of ICE raids targeting Central American families saying, “Rounding up mothers and children who have fled the most violent region in the western hemisphere and are trying to find refuge abrogates our legal obligations.”
DOJ OIL January 2016 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for January 2016, with articles on Gonzalez Cano v. Lynch and Bernardo v. Johnson, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for January 2016.
BIA Terminates Proceedings Based on Unreliable Form I-213
Unpublished BIA decision terminated proceedings against respondent charged with being present without admission or parole, because the Form I-213 did not reflect two prior lawful nonimmigrant admissions. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Bahamonde Michilena, 12/31/15)
Sign-on Letter to the President Opposing DHS Reported Plans to Conduct Nationwide Raids
On 12/31/15, over 150 organizations joined AILA in expressing opposition to the DHS reported plans to conduct nationwide raids to round up and deport Central American children and their parents. The letter urges the President to offer greater protection to Central American families fleeing violence.
CA7 Says BIA Used Wrong Standard in Reviewing IJ's Factual Finding
In determining petitioner’s eligibility for deferral of removal under CAT, the court held that BIA was required to review IJ's factual finding that petitioner would more likely than not be tortured if removed to Honduras only for clear error, not de novo. (Estrada-Martinez v. Lynch, 12/31/15)
Preserving the One-Year Filing Deadline for Asylum Cases Stuck in the Immigration Court Backlog
The Council and AILA provide a practice advisory on steps attorneys can take to preserve clients’ asylum claims where the master calendar hearing is scheduled beyond the one-year filing deadline. Steps include filing affirmatively with the Asylum Office, lodging, and filing a motion to advance.
District Court Orders ICE Detainee Be Held in Psychiatric Facility to Receive Mental Health Treatment
The court granted the mentally incompetent plaintiff-petitioner's preliminary injunction, ordering that she be held at a psychiatric facility for mental health treatment targeted towards restoring her to mental competence. Courtesy of Kerry Doyle. (Doan v. Bergeron, et al., 12/31/15)
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.
CA4 Says Conspiracy to Violate MD's Controlled Substances Law Is Aggravated Felony
The court held that the petitioner's conviction for conspiracy to violate Maryland's controlled dangerous substances law constituted an aggravated felony subject to removal under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(iii). (Etienne v. Lynch, 12/30/15)
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)
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)