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
Q&As from AILA Joint Liaison Meeting with USCIS Verification and ICE HSI (11/10/15)
USCIS Q&As from the 11/10/15 AILA Verification and Documentation Liaison Committee meeting with the USCIS Verification Division and ICE Homeland Security Investigations. Topics discussed included E-Verify enrollment, short term assignments, TNC notifications, remote hires, and H-1B validity period.
Q&As and Supplemental Notes from AILA’s Joint Meeting with USCIS Verification and ICE HSI (11/10/15)
AILA’s Verification & Documentation Liaison Committee provides minutes and supplemental notes from their meeting with USCIS Verification and ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on 11/10/15. Topics include: E-Verify enrollment, short term assignments, TNC notifications, and remote hires.
ICE Issues Guidance on Investigating the Potential U.S. Citizenship of Individuals Encountered by ICE
ICE issued a directive establishing ICE’s policy and procedures for ensuring that the potential U.S. citizenship of individuals encountered by ICE officers, agents, and attorneys is “immediately and carefully investigated and analyzed.” Obtained via FOIA by Jacqueline Pearce.
Sign-on Letter Raise Concerns About Access to Asylum for Anyone with a Prior Removal Order
On 11/9/15, AILA joined 63 organizations in urging the Department of Homeland Security to undertake rulemaking that would allow all asylum seekers, including individuals with prior removal orders, to apply for asylum, in addition to withholding removal.
EOIR Swears in Two Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the investiture of two immigration judges. Daniel J. Daugherty has been appointed to the Las Vegas Immigration Court and Jonathan S. Simpson has been appointed to the San Francisco Immigration Court. Both will begin hearing cases in November 2015.
How to File a Petition for Review
Noncitizens may file a petition for review in the court of appeals to seek judicial review of a final removal order. This Practice Advisory addresses the procedures and general requirements for filing and litigating a petition for review.
CBP Issues Memo and Muster on Implementation of National Standards on Transport, Escort, Detention, and Search (TEDS)
CBP released a redacted memo and muster on the implementation of nationwide standards governing the safety and security of those in CBP custody.
AILA Amicus Brief on Whether Reinstatement Bar on "Relief" Bars Asylum Applications
AILA filed an amicus brief with the Fifth Circuit in Ramirez-Mejia v. Lynch supporting rehearing en banc and arguing that the more specific bars to asylum in the asylum statute govern the question and control, rather than the more general bar on "relief" in the reinstatement statute.
BIA Reopens Sua Sponte for Respondent Residing Abroad
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte following vacatur of criminal conviction for respondent whose appeal was dismissed in 2003 and was residing abroad. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Perez-Guerrero, 11/6/15)
CA3 Finds Petitioner Ineligible for Cancellation of Removal on Basis of Clock-Stopping CIMT
Where petitioner was charged in his notice to appear with being removable due to his 2000 clock-stopping crime involving moral turpitude, the court held that he did not accrue the requisite period of continuous residency to be eligible for cancellation of removal. (Singh v. Lynch, 11/4/15)
CA8 Dismisses Challenge to Cancellation of Removal Denial for Lack of Jurisdiction
The court held that the non-LPR petitioner’s claim amounted to a challenge to how the IJ and BIA weighed the evidence in support of his application for cancellation of removal, and was thus outside the court’s jurisdiction to review. (Lemuz-Hernandez v. Lynch, 11/2/15)
CA9 Says Possession of Credit Card Without Consent Is Categorically a CIMT in Nevada
The court held that, because an intent to defraud applies to all conduct proscribed by the Nevada statute under which petitioner was convicted for conspiracy to possess a credit card without consent, a conviction under the statute is a categorical CIMT. (Mancilla-Delafuente v. Lynch, 11/2/15)
Enforcement Overdrive: A Comprehensive Assessment of ICE's Criminal Alien Program
This American Immigration Council report assesses the Criminal Alien Program (CAP), a massive enforcement program administered by ICE, and examines CAP’s evolution, operations, and outcomes from FY2010 through FY2013.
BIA Says IJs Should Use Preponderance of the Evidence Standard to Determine Competency
The BIA held neither party bears a formal burden of proof to establish a respondent’s mental competency, but where there are indicia of incompetency, the IJ should determine if a preponderance of evidence establishes the respondent is competent. Matter of J-S-S-, 26 I&N Dec. 679 (BIA 2015)
Immigration Law Advisor, October 2015 (Vol. 9, No. 9)
The October 2015 Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, includes with an article on fraud and the unauthorized practice of law in immigration proceedings, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions from September 2015 and regulatory updates.
BIA Finds Attorney Provided Ineffective Assistance by Failing to Raise Domestic Violence Asylum Claim
Unpublished BIA decision finds prior attorney provided ineffective assistance by failing to argue that respondent qualified for asylum under Matter of A-R-C-G-, 26 I&N Dec. 388 (BIA 2014), and by failing to file a brief on appeal. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of L-Y-O-B-, 11/2/15)
DOJ OIL November 2015 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for November 2015, with articles on Texas v. United States and DACA, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for November 2015.
Recent Decisions from 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and District Court Decisions (October 2015)
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 October 2015 and should be used as a starting point in research.
Protecting the Survivors
Since October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we wanted to take this opportunity to draw attention to the need for AILA member expertise to help survivors, the challenges involved, and also highlight some ways that immigration attorneys can make a huge difference by getting involved and offeri
AG Refers Two BIA Decisions to Herself for Review of Issue Relating to Descamps
The AG referred the BIA’s decisions to herself for review of an issue relating to Descamps v. U.S., ordering that those cases be stayed and not regarded as precedential or binding as to the issue under review. Matter of Chairez and Matter of Sama, 26 I&N Dec. 686 (A.G. 2015)
Legal Access and Legal Visitation Standard Operating Procedures for ICE Family Residential Centers
ICE issued Standard Operating Procedures establishing minimum legal access and legal visitation standards applicable to all ICE Family Residential Centers (FRC) that are active and operational.
Sign-on Letter to ICE on Processing Immigrants Set for Early Release from BOP
On 10/29/15, AILA joined a number of immigration and human rights organizations urging ICE to provide due process to the estimated 1870-2000 immigrants that are scheduled for early release from the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) starting 10/30/15.
BIA Reopens In Absentia Order After Tolling 180-Day Deadline
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order upon finding failure to appear was result of ineffective assistance and that respondent acted with sufficient diligence to toll 180-day deadline to seek reopening. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Castro, 10/29/15)
BIA Remands Record Because IJ Failed to Note Eligibility for 212(h) Waiver
Unpublished BIA decision remands records because the IJ failing to advise the respondent of his potential eligibility to adjust status with a 212(h) waiver, thereby violating 8 CFR §1240.11(a)(2). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Dia, 10/29/15)
EOIR Memo on Handling Cases Involving Certain Applications for Cancellation and Suspension
Obtained via FOIA by Hoppock Law Firm, EOIR released a memo from David L. Neal to Board Legal Staff on handling cases involving certain applications for cancellation and suspension, and identifying CoR cap cases. Special thanks to Matthew Hoppock.