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
EOIR Releases Memo on UAC and Family Docketing Practices
EOIR memo with updated docketing practices related to unaccompanied children cases and adults with children released on alternatives to detention cases in light of new priorities. This memo supersedes the 9/10/14 Docketing Practices memo.
BIA Says Bond Redetermination Rules are Mandatory, Not Jurisdictional
The BIA held that 8 CFR §1003.19(c) relates to venue and thus, the IJ erred in dismissing Respondent’s bond redetermination request for lack of jurisdiction when he was transferred to a detention center outside the court’s jurisdiction. Matter of Cerda Reyes, 26 I&N Dec. 528 (BIA 2015)
CA10 Finds Petitioner Was Subject to Mandatory Detention
The court denied the petition for review, finding petitioner was not entitled to a bond hearing due to the BIA’s interpretation of §236(c) and because the government had a continued duty to impose detention even if it failed to detain him in a timely manner. (Olmos v. Holder, 3/24/15)
FOIA Results from Request Regarding Stewart Immigration Court
FOIA results from a request for information regarding the Stewart Immigration Court in Lumpkin, Georgia. Special thanks to the South Florida AILA Chapter.
Statement by ICE Director Saldana Clarifying Testimony on Secure Communities
Statement by ICE Director Sarah Saldana stating that she supports the end of the Secure Communities program and the replacement of it with a new Priority Enforcement Program.
BIA Holds Advance Parole Form Is Not Valid Entry Document
Unpublished BIA decision holds Form I-512L (Authorization for Parole of an Alien Into the United States) is not a "valid entry document" under INA §212(a)(7)(A)(i)(I). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Abraham, 3/19/15)
BIA Reverses Finding of Inadmissibility for Alien Smuggling
Unpublished BIA decision finds respondent was not inadmissible for alien smuggling based on his conviction under INA §274(a)(1)(A)(ii), because the criminal statute requires a mens rea of recklessness rather than actual knowledge. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Martinez, 3/19/15)
DHS Releases a Privacy Impact Assessment on ICE’s Use of License Plate Readers
DHS released a privacy impact assessment on how ICE’s intends to procure the services and use of information obtained from license plate readers (LPRs) as an investigatory tool in support of its criminal investigations and civil immigration enforcement actions.
BIA Finds IJ Should Consider Explanation for Absence of Evidence But Is Not Required to Identify Specific Evidence Needed
The BIA found that an IJ is not required to identify the specific evidence necessary to meet the burden of proof or to provide an automatic continuance for applicant to obtain that evidence prior to making a decision on that application. Matter of L-A-C-, 26 I&N Dec. 516 (BIA 2015)
CA8 Upholds Denial of a 13th Continuance for Petitioner with Sham Marriage
The court found that BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying a 13th continuance, where the petitioner was found to have entered into a sham marriage, never appealed that finding, and presented no evidence of any likelihood of an I-130 approval. (Mogeni v. Holder, 3/9/15)
EOIR Outlines Legal Standard for Evaluating “Reason to Believe”
Unpublished EOIR decision finding that an arriving immigrant must show through evidentiary factors that there is not "reasonable, substantial, and probative" evidence that supports an officer or IJ having a "reason to believe" he is knowingly involved in drug trafficking. Courtesy of Marshal Hyman.
Practice Advisory on Prosecutorial Discretion and How to Advocate for Your Client
The American Immigration Council updated its practice advisory, Prosecutorial Discretion: How to Advocate for Your Client, which provides practical tips for attorneys seeking to persuade DHS officers to exercise prosecutorial discretion in favor of their clients.
ICE Announces New Procedures for Custody Determinations Involving Detainees with Criminal Convictions
ICE news release providing enhanced policies and procedures with regard to the potential release of individuals with a criminal conviction from detention.
Prosecutorial Discretion Requests under the Johnson Enforcement Priorities Memorandum
AIC and AILA provide a practice advisory on the 11/20/14 memo on Policies for the Apprehension, Detention and Removal of Undocumented Immigrants, which discusses DHS’s new enforcement priorities, exceptions to the priorities, use of detention, and implementation.
BIA Finds Change in HIV Status Constitutes a Material Change
Unpublished BIA decision remands after finding that the respondent met his burden of establishing that the diagnosis of HIV-positive constitutes a material change in his circumstances as a gay man in that his HIV-positive status would increase his risk of persecution in Jamaica.
BIA Reduces $20,000 Voluntary Departure Bond
Unpublished BIA decision vacates order requiring posting of $20,000 voluntary departure bond, finding that a bond of $1,000 is sufficient to ensure respondent’s departure within the specified time period. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Pimentel, 3/17/15)
BIA Orders Consideration of Untimely 212(c) Application
Unpublished BIA decision orders consideration of application for INA §212(c) waiver filed after deadline imposed by IJ, given that respondent had been an LPR since 1967. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Cuello, 3/17/15)
CA7 Affirms BIA’s Denial of CAT Relief to Bosnian Petitioner
The court denied CAT relief, finding that BIA had considered all the evidence in the record in determining if it was more likely than not that petitioner would be tortured in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and that BIA's determination was supported by substantial evidence. (Lenjinac v. Holder, 3/17/15)
National Sign-On Letter Calling on the President to End Family Detention
A 3/17/15 national sign-on letter calling on President Obama to revisit family detention in light of federal district court injunction against detaining to deter and strong new evidence that detained mothers and children are asylum seekers.
AILA Factsheet: Dispelling Myths about Advance Parole
Critics have alleged that DACA and DAPA and advance parole create a new path to citizenship for unauthorized persons. This AILA factsheet explains that only a small percentage of individuals who receive DACA or DAPA would be able to obtain green cards using advance parole.
USCIS Memo on Adjudication of Special Rule Cancellation Requests within Eighth and Ninth Circuits
USCIS memo stating that for applications for special rule cancellation under NACARA adjudicated in the Eighth/Ninth circuits, asylum officers must calculate the 7-year continuous physical presence and good moral character period from the filing date the Form I-881, not the date of the adjudication.
AILA Notes from Liaison Teleconference with USCIS Customer Service (3/13/15)
AILA notes from a teleconference on 3/13/15 with the USCIS Customer Service and Public Engagement Directorate on issues related to myUSCIS, expanded DACA/DAPA, NCSC, ELIS, processing times, G-28 issues, and derivatives separation.
CA6 Says BIA Petitioner Did Not Demonstrate Sufficient Hardship to Children
The court held that BIA and IJ used the proper standard to evaluate hardship, even though the term "on balance" was used by IJ, and that it lacked jurisdiction to second-guess the BIA's judgment on sufficiency of the danger to petitioner’s children. (Montanez-Gonzalez v. Holder, 3/12/15)
CA2 Finds BIA May Apply Waiver Doctrine to Matters Not Raised Before IJ
The court held that the BIA may apply the doctrine of waiver to refuse to consider an issue that could have been, but was not, raised before an IJ. (Prabhudial v. Holder, 3/12/15)
CA8 Upholds Withholding of Removal Denial for Guatemalan Petitioner
In an unpublished decision, the court upheld the BIA determination that the petitioner failed to establish a clear probability that his life or freedom would be threatened in Guatemala because of his membership in a particular social group. (Romero-Romero v. Holder, 3/11/15)