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.
| Pre Jan 20, 2025 Status | Current Status |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Browse the Featured Issue: Representing Clients Before ICE collection
BIA Reopens Proceedings for Respondent to Seek Provisional Waiver
Unpublished BIA decision reopens and remands proceedings for consideration of respondent's request for administrative closure to apply for an I-601A provisional waiver of unlawful presence. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Barrientos-Vivas, 6/25/15)
BIA Reopens Proceedings Sua Sponte After Respondent's Spouse Was Granted U Status
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte in light of the respondent's eligibility to adjust status under INA §245(m)(3) after his spouse was granted U nonimmigrant status. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Meraz, 6/25/15)
AILA Files Amicus Brief with BIA Arguing Oregon Menacing Statute Not CIMT
On 6/25/15, the AILA Amicus Committee filed an amicus brief with the BIA. The brief argues that apprehension-only simple assaults like those proscribed under Oregon’s menacing statute, requiring no physical contact of any kind, do not categorically constitute crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMT).
BIA Upholds Administrative Closure to Seek Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver
Unpublished BIA decision denies DHS's interlocutory appeal challenging the administrative closure of respondent's removal proceedings to allow the respondent to seek an I-601A provisional waiver of unlawful presence. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Govea, 6/24/15)
CA1 Upholds BIA’s Denial of §212(h) Waiver
The court denied petitioner’s motion to reopen, where BIA determined that petitioner’s introduction of new evidence, in light of his criminal history, would not have entitled petitioner to the discretionary grant of relief which he sought. (Mazariegos v. Lynch, 6/24/15)
Statement by DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson on Family Detention
Statement by DHS Secretary Johnson, “… we must make substantial changes in our detention practices... In short, once a family has established eligibility for asylum or other relief under our laws, long-term detention is an inefficient use of our resources and should be discontinued.”
AILA Quicktake #129: Sec. Johnson Announcement on Family Detention
AILA President Victor Nieblas Pradis reacts to Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson's announcement on ICE's changes to family detention.
AILA: DHS Plans on Family Detention Are a Step Forward
AILA President Victor Nieblas Pradis welcomed newly announced DHS plans relating to family detention but said, “more is needed…Asylum seeking families should be given due process, not expedited removal. And the end of the road must be the end of family detention entirely.”
CA9 Says Regulatory Departure Bar Invalid Regardless of How Noncitizen Departed U.S.
The court held that the regulatory departure bar is invalid irrespective of how the noncitizen departed the U.S., and that the IIRIRA’s text makes clear the statutory right to file a motion to reopen or reconsider is not limited by whether the individual had departed. (Toor v. Lynch, 6/17/15)
ICE Statement on Family Detention Centers
KSAT reports that ICE issued a statement on family detention centers, maintaining its position that family residential centers "are an effective and humane alternative for maintaining family unity as families go through immigration proceedings or await return to their home countries."
AILA: ICE Statement on Family Detention Ignores the Tragic Reality
AILA President Victor Nieblas Pradis responded to a recent statement on family detention from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) saying "In all my 19 years of experience as an immigration attorney, I have never heard a federal agency rewrite history to this extent."
35 Representatives Call for an End to Detention of LGBT Immigrants
A 6/23/15 letter to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson from 35 members of the House of Representatives, calling on the administration to end to the detention of LGBT immigrants.
AILA Quicktake #128: ICE FAQs Released
This week, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement released FAQs regarding civil enforcement priorities and prosecutorial discretion. AILA Associate Director of Liaison Kate Voigt discusses what the FAQs address and what to expect next.
AILA Presents Laura Lichter and Stephen Manning with the Founders Award
AILA will award Laura Lichter, of Lichter Immigration, Denver, CO, and Stephen Manning, of Immigrant Law Group, PC, Portland, OR, with the Founders Award, which is given from time to time to the person or entity having the most substantial impact on the field of immigration law or policy.
CA3 Orders Return of Guatemalan Petitioners to United States
The court ordered the government to use its best efforts to intercept petitioners when they landed in Guatemala City and to return them to the United States immediately, and granted petitioners a stay of removal upon their return. (Sutuc v. Att’y Gen, 6/19/15)
ICE Memo with Guidance on Treatment of Transgender Detainees
A 6/19/15 memo from Thomas Homan with guidance on how to care for transgendered individuals in custodial settings. Memo addresses data systems, identification and processing, and housing placements. Memo complements existing ICE/DHS policies and standards, including the DHS PREA Standards.
AILA ICE Liaison Committee Meeting Q&As (6/19/15)
AILA ICE Liaison Committee questions and answers from the 6/19/15 liaison meeting with ICE, including information on DHS enforcement priorities, prosecutorial discretion, DACA, reinstatement of removal, orders of supervision, ICE interaction with DMVs, bond, biometrics, and family detention.
BIA Grants Interlocutory Appeal Challenging Change of Venue
Unpublished BIA decision grants interlocutory appeal challenging grant of DHS motion to change venue because respondent had already retained local counsel and IJ did not provide reasonable opportunity to respond to motion. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Khalatyan, 6/19/15)
BIA Reverses IJ for Requiring Submission of Dependency Petition
Unpublished BIA decision holds that the IJ erred in requiring submission of a state dependency petition needed to obtain Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status where it was undisputed that a hearing on the petition had been scheduled. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of A-O-V-V-, 6/19/15)
AILA Brief in Matter of Silva-Trevino on Use of Modified Categorical Approach
AILA amicus brief, responding to questions posed by the AG when he vacated the Silva-Trevino decision, urging the BIA to issue a precedent decision stating that the categorical approach and modified categorical approach establishes the methodology to determine whether a conviction is a CIMT.
CA7 Says BIA Erred in Imposing Standard Higher Than Preponderance of the Evidence
The court held that BIA erred when it denied petitioner a discretionary waiver available to petitioners who can show they entered a failed marriage in good faith, where petitioner testified that he had married for love, and the government submitted no evidence. (Hernandez v. Lynch, 6/18/15)
Statement by DHS Inspector General at House Hearing on Executive Actions
Statement by John Roth, Inspector General for DHS, at a 6/17/15 House hearing titled “A Review of the President’s Executive Actions on Immigration.” Testimony focused on the results of OIG’s audit of DHS’s use of prosecutorial discretion data.
BIA Says Returning LPR Cannot Be Charged with Inadmissibility Under INA §212(a)
The BIA held that an LPR returning to the U.S. cannot be regarded as seeking an admission and may not be charged with inadmissibility under INA §212(a) if he does not fall within any of the exceptions in INA §101(a)(13)(C). Matter of Pena, 26 I&N Dec. 613 (BIA 2015)
ICE FAQs on Prosecutorial Discretion and Enforcement Priorities
ICE FAQs relating to civil enforcement priorities and prosecutorial discretion, including steps to take when an individual detained in ICE custody or in removal proceedings believes that he is not an enforcement priority or that he is otherwise eligible for an exercise of prosecutorial discretion.
CA9 Finds Misdemeanor Conviction for Unlawful Laser Activity Not a CIMT
The court granted the petition for review, finding petitioner’s conviction for misdemeanor unlawful laser activity was not a categorical crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT), because the statute could be violated by conduct not equivalent to terrorizing threats. (Coquico v. Lynch, 6/17/15)