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
CA5 Finds Petitioner with Multiple Convictions Ineligible for Cancellation of Removal
The court upheld BIA's decision in Matter of Pina-Galindo, holding that the plain language of INA §240A(b)(1)(C) includes an “offense under INA §212(a)(2)” and does not limit ineligibility for cancellation of removal to offenses under INA §212(a)(2)(A). (Pina-Galindo v. Lynch, 9/24/15)
TRAC Report Finds Increasing Wait Times for Hearing Dates in Immigration Courts
A TRAC report found that 456,644 individual deportation cases were pending before the judges in U.S. immigration courts at the end of August 2015. The data shows that the backlog of pending cases and the average individual wait times have both reached new all-time highs.
CA9 Says Credibility Determination May Be Based Solely on Background Evidence in Record
The court held that the REAL ID Act permits the BIA and IJ to base their adverse credibility determinations exclusively on background evidence in the record upon considering the totality of the circumstances and all relevant factors. (Singh v. Lynch, 9/21/15)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Good Faith Marriage Waiver
The court found that the petitioner was afforded a fundamentally fair proceeding during which substantial evidence was presented for the IJ and the BIA to conclude that his marriage was not entered into in good faith. (Davis v. Lynch, 9/21/15)
Obama Administration Again Hands Families Over to Private Prison Company
The CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project responded to the news that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had awarded a private prison company the grant to establish a new case management alternative to detention initiative for families.
Statement by DHS Secretary on Reforms to Family Residential Centers
DHS statement by Secretary Jeh Johnson on reforms to family residential centers, stating DHS is “…taking steps to ensure compliance with the July 24 and August 21 orders… we remain committed to reforming our family residential center policies, as we have been doing for the past several months.”
CA1 Says Conviction Can Be Aggravated Felony Even If No Sentence Was Served
The court held that a predicate conviction under federal or state law can constitute an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43) even when it is not accompanied by a term of imprisonment. (Levesque v. Lynch, 9/18/15)
BIA Sustains Appeal of Respondent with DUI Convictions
Unpublished BIA decision held that respondent warrants a grant of cancellation of removal, finding that his 2002 DUI conviction fell outside the period for which he must show good moral character, and thus was not a relevant factor. Courtesy of Div Gopal. (Matter of Martinez Jimenez, 9/18/15)
VSC Meeting Notes and Practice Pointers on VAWA, U, and T Filings
Meeting notes and practice pointers compiled by AILA’s VAWA, Us, and Ts Committee, ASISTA, and ICWC from the Vermont Service Center (VSC) stakeholder event held at VSC on September 18, 2015. Includes information on processing issues, RFEs, the hotline, the U visa waitlist, I-765s, and VAWA cases.
CA6 Says Personal Service upon Counsel May Constitute Service to Noncitizen
The court held that INA §240 requires that personal service of an order of removal in absentia be made upon a noncitizen whenever practicable, and found that personal service upon counsel may, in certain cases, constitute personal service to a noncitizen. (Cruz-Gomez v. Lynch, 9/17/15)
TRAC Finds Criminal Activity Alleged in 10.8% of Immigration Court Deportation Filings
A Transactional Records Access Clearing House (TRAC) report finds that as of August 2015, alleged criminal activity has been the basis of only about one of every ten deportation filings in U.S. immigration court so far this fiscal year.
Statutory Enforcement Report: The State of Civil Rights at Immigration Detention Facilities
On 9/17/15, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released its annual report examining the treatment of detained immigrants in immigration holding, processing, and detention centers throughout the U.S.
EOIR Publishes Rules Regarding Legal Representation
EOIR notice that the Deputy Attorney General has signed for publication in the Federal Register one proposed rule and two final rules, each addressing various aspects of legal representation. EOIR plans to host stakeholder meetings this fall to discuss implementation of these rules.
BIA Grants Family-Based Asylum Claim Based on Gang Threats
Unpublished BIA decision finds respondent threatened for helping daughter pursue criminal case against gang member established nexus to persecution on account of membership in particular social group (family). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of M-R-G-, 9/16/15)
BIA Dismisses CIMT Charge Based on Length of Possible Sentence
Unpublished BIA decision holds respondent not deportable under INA 237(a)(2)(A)(i) based on CIMT conviction because he himself faced maximum sentence of only seven months under state sentencing guidelines. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Giron, 9/14/15)
IJ Grants Asylum to Mexican Journalist
The IJ granted the asylum application of a Mexican journalist who fled Mexico amid threats and the murder of family members as a result of his reporting on and criticism of police misconduct. Courtesy of Carlos Spector.
CA1 Upholds Finding That Petitioner Failed to Establish Changed Country Conditions
The court held that the BIA and IJ acted within their discretion in finding that the petitioner had failed to establish changed country conditions for Christians in China since the issuance of his in absentia removal order. (Liu v. Lynch, 9/11/15)
AILA: America Must Respond More Generously to Refugee Crisis
AILA urges President Obama to go beyond the commitment he made to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees and to extend more meaningful protection to all refugees and asylum seekers whether they are resettled from abroad or have crossed U.S. borders fleeing violence, persecution, and other horrors.
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Urge the Administration to Comply with the Flores Settlement Agreement
On 9/11/15, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights urged the President, Attorney General Lynch, and Homeland Security Secretary Johnson to comply and not appeal the U.S. District Court order in Flores v. Johnson concerning the detention of children and families
The Council and AILA File Amicus Brief on Detention Under INA §236(a)
The American Immigration Council and AILA filed an amicus brief in Guerra v. Shanahan urging the Second Circuit to affirm that a person with a reinstated order of removal who has yet to receive a final administrative decision on a withholding application is detained under INA §236(a).
BIA Holds Failure To Disclose DUI Does Not Preclude Adjustment of Status
Unpublished BIA decision orders further consideration of adjustment application, noting that failure to disclose arrest for DUI was an adverse discretionary factor but did not render respondent ineligible to adjust status. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Asamoah, 9/11/15)
BIA Upholds Termination of Proceedings Against Returning LPR
Unpublished BIA decision terminates proceedings upon finding failure to disclose conviction is not basis to regard returning LPR as an applicant for admission and record did not clearly establish existence of foreign conviction. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Liu, 9/11/15)
BIA Finds IJ Violated Respondent’s Right to Counsel
Unpublished BIA decision finds IJ failed to advise respondent of pro bono representation option, ascertain whether she was provided list of free legal service providers, or obtain a knowing and voluntary waiver of right to counsel. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of A-M-R-D-, 9/10/15)
BIA Grants Untimely Motion to Reconsider Under Mellouli for Removed Respondent
Unpublished BIA decision grants motion to reconsider sua sponte for respondent who had already departed the country because he was no longer removable under Mellouli v. Lynch, 135 S. Ct. 1980 (2015). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Asamoah, 9/10/15)
BIA Finds Iraqi’s Past Experience of Working with Americans to Be Immutable Characteristic
Unpublished BIA decision remands petitioner’s asylum claims, finding that the Iraqi citizen-respondent's past experience of having cooperated or worked with Americans or American entities in Iraq was, by its very nature, immutable. Courtesy of Geoffrey A. Hoffman. (Matter of X-, 9/10/15)