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
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Due to Confusion Regarding Date of Hearing
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order upon finding respondent’s confusion regarding date of hearing constituted exceptional circumstances in light of eligibility to adjust and attendance at all prior hearings. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Bonilla-Molina, 9/2/15)
DOJ OIL September 2015 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for September 2015, with articles on Avendano-Hernandez v. Lynch, Morales-Santana v. Lynch, and TPS for Yemeni nationals, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for September 2015.
CA9 Finds Voluntary Manslaughter Is Not Categorically a Crime of Violence
The court reversed the BIA's denial of petitioner's withholding and CAT applications, holding that petitioner's California conviction and 11-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter was not a categorical “crime of violence” or a “particularly serious crime.” (Quijada-Aguilar v. Lynch, 9/1/15)
CA10 Says State Conviction for Criminal Impersonation Is Categorically a CIMT
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of petitioner's motion to reopen, finding that petitioner's CO conviction for criminal impersonation was categorically a crime involving moral turpitude, thus rendering petitioner ineligible for cancellation of removal. (Veloz-Luvevano v. Lynch, 8/31/15)
BIA Grants Motion to Reconsider Denial of Asylum Application
Unpublished BIA decision reconsiders prior denial of asylum application upon finding IJ erred in finding respondents’ witnesses not credible and in requiring respondent to provide corroborating evidence from former supervisor in China. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of S-L-, 8/31/15)
TRAC Report Finds ICE Detainer Use Declining, But Not Targeting Convicted Criminals
A TRAC report found that ICE detainer use has declined, with the latest data showing that ICE issued 7,993 detainers in April 2015, which was 30% fewer than in October 2014. The data also showed that only 32% of individuals on whom detainers were placed in April 2015 had been convicted of a crime.
CA8 Says It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review BIA's Sua Sponte Denial of Motion to Reopen
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the denial of petitioner's motion to reopen, because the motion requested that the BIA reopen the proceedings sua sponte, and the court may only review a denial of a statutory motion to reopen. (Shoyombo v. Lynch, 8/28/15)
CA9 Says Matter of Briones Does Not Apply Retroactively Where Applicant Relied on Acosta
The court reversed BIA's denial of petitioner's adjustment application, finding that petitioner reasonably relied on the law in effect at the time he applied, and that Matter of Briones should not be applied retroactively to bar his application. (Acosta-Olivarria v. Lynch, 8/26/15)
CA9 Upholds CAT Denial of Petitioner with Non-Gang Tattoos
The court upheld the BIAs’ denial of petitioner's CAT application, holding that the evidence did not compel the conclusion that petitioner established it was more likely than not that he would be tortured in El Salvador due to his decorative, non-gang tattoos. (Andrade v. Lynch, 8/27/15)
BIA Reopens Proceedings Sua Sponte Because Attorney Who Received Hearing Notice Did Not Enter Appearance
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte following in absentia order because record did not contain an entry of appearance for the attorney who received the hearing notice. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ayala-Guevara, 8/27/15)
BIA Request for Amicus Briefs on Jeune v. Att'y Gen.
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) invites interested members of the public to file amicus curiae briefs on two specified issues relating to the Third Circuit's decision in Jeune v. Att'y Gen. Briefs are due by 9/25/15.
AILA Amicus Brief Filed in SCOTUS Case Luna-Torres v. Lynch
AILA amicus filed with the Supreme Court arguing that a crime is not an “offense described in” a federal criminal statute unless it meets all of the elements of that statute, including the interstate commerce requirement.
BIA Remands for Consideration of Administrative Closure Motion
Unpublished BIA decision finds that IJ's failure to consider a Motion to Administratively Close proceedings was error, and that IJ’s decision to allow DHS's sizable exhibit to be presented at the merits hearing without giving counsel sufficient time to review was unfair. Courtesy of Carlos Spector.
CA9 Says Stepchild Does Not Derive U.S. Citizenship from Stepparent
The court upheld the BIA's denial of the petitioner's claim that he derived citizenship under INA §320(a) from his U.S. citizen stepfather, finding that the definition of "child" in INA §101(c)(1) does not encompass stepchildren. (Acevedo v. Lynch, 8/24/15)
Court Orders Prompt Release of Immigrant Children from Family Detention
AILA and the American Immigration Council welcome a decision by U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Flores v. Lynch, which ruled that children should generally be released from detention within five days—preferably to a parent, including a parent with whom they were apprehended.
Sign-on Letter to White House on Transfer of Detained Transgender Women
On 8/24/15 AILA joined LGBTQ rights, civil rights, and immigrant rights organizations in a letter to President Barack Obama regarding the recent news that transgender women may soon be transferred to the Adelanto Detention Facility in Southern California.
BIA Rules on Controlling Filing Date for INA §208(b)(1)(B)(iii) Purposes
The BIA held that where an applicant’s initial asylum application was filed before May 11, 2005, and a subsequent one was submitted on or after that date, the filing date of the later application controls if it is properly viewed as a new one. Matter of M-A-F-, 26 I&N Dec. 651 (BIA 2015)
CA8 Upholds Denial of Adjustment of Status Due to False Claim of Citizenship on Form I-9
The court found that petitioner was inadmissible and thus ineligible for adjustment of status, because substantial evidence supported BIA's determination that petitioner falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen on a Form I-9 when he applied for a job in 2009. (Etenyi v. Lynch, 8/21/15)
CA7 Upholds Adverse Credibility Determination of Cameroonian Petitioner
The court upheld BIA's denial of petitioner's asylum application, finding that petitioner neither demonstrated that IJ’s adverse credibility determination was erroneous nor produced any evidence sufficient to corroborate his account of mistreatment in Cameroon. (Tawou v. Lynch, 8/20/15)
CA9 Instructs BIA to Grant Motion to Reopen Due to Ineffective Assistance
The court held that petitioner was entitled to equitable tolling of his untimely motion to reopen, finding that lawyer’s advice to pursue a form of immigration relief for which he was statutorily ineligible constituted ineffective assistance of counsel. (Salazar-Gonzalez v. Lynch, 8/20/15)
CA7 Says Noncitizens Have Second Amendment Rights
The court held that noncitizens, including unauthorized noncitizens, are among "the people" on whom the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution bestows the individual right to keep and bear arms. (United States v. Meza-Rodriguez, 8/20/15)
CA1 Says It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review Denial of Adjustment of Status Application
The court held it lacked jurisdiction to review BIA's dismissal of the petitioner's adjustment of status application and removal order, finding that such decisions under INA §245 are purely discretionary, absent a colorable constitutional claim or question of law. (Mele v. Lynch, 8/19/15)
Report on Family Detention in Berks County, Pennsylvania
Human Rights First released a report on the Berks County Family Detention Facility. Report states that, “Detention is not only harmful to children and families, but also expensive to taxpayers at an average daily cost of $343 per person” and also provides recommendations on ending family detention.
BIA Reopens Proceedings Sua Sponte To Consider Brief Delayed in Transit
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte to consider arguments in brief that was significant delayed in transit to the Board, but reaffirms its prior decision. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Victoria Javier, 8/19/15)
CA9 Says INA §242(a)(2)(C) Does Not Bar Review of Procedural Motion Denial
The court held that the statutory criminal bar does not strip the court of jurisdiction to review the denial of a procedural motion that rests on a ground independent of the conviction that triggered the bar, and upheld the denial of petitioner’s motion to continue. (Garcia v. Lynch, 8/18/15)