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
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)
CA7 Denies Request for Continuance to File a Second I-130
The court held it is not an abuse of discretion for an IJ to deny a continuance based on the speculative nature of an unfiled I-130, and that the denial of a prior request for relief is highly relevant in determining whether good cause exists for a continuance. (Souley v. Holder, 3/11/15)
AILA Recommends Senators Vote NO on the Inhofe Amendment 275 – Oppose Massive Escalation of Immigration Detention
AILA Recommends Senators Vote NO on the Inhofe Amendment 275, which would grant DHS extraordinarily broad power to detain noncitizens for prolonged or indefinite periods.
BIA Finds Respondent Removable for Participation in Acts of Torture and Extrajudicial Killing
The BIA found respondent removable, where killing of civilians and acts of torture occurred during his command of the Salvadoran National Guard, and he interfered with investigations, and failed to hold the perpetrators accountable. Matter of Vides Casanova, 26 I&N Dec. 494 (BIA 2015)
BIA Holds Respondent in Withholding Only Proceedings May Be Released from Custody
Unpublished BIA decision orders further consideration of request for custody determination by mother in withholding only proceedings denied by IJ solely to avoid separation from son who was also in custody. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of L-R-N-, 3/10/15)
BIA Holds Pennsylvania Reckless Endangerment Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision terminates proceedings under Third Circuit decision finding recklessly endangering another person under 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. 2705 is not a CIMT. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Vasquez-Lopez, 3/10/15)
The Council and AILA File Amicus Brief on Scope of the § 212(h) Aggravated Felony Bar
The American Immigration Council and AILA filed an amicus brief in Mansfield v. Holder urging the Eighth Circuit Court to vacate Roberts v. Holder, which holds that the § 212(h) aggravated felony bar applies to all LPRs regardless of the manner in which they gained LPR status.
Ethical Questions for AILA Members Regarding Expanded DACA and DAPA Clients
AILA member and Ethics Committee Chair Cyrus Mehta answers ethical questions on clients who may qualify for expanded DACA and DAPA. For more information or additional questions, please email AILA’s Practice and Professionalism Center.
CA8 Says Victims of Gang Violence Is Not a Valid Particular Social Group
The court held petitioner did not demonstrate that being a victim of gang violence was a particular social group, because the group did not show sufficient particularity and visibility such that it was perceived as a cohesive group by Guatemalan society. (Chilel v. Holder, 3/10/15)
BIA Reopens Proceedings Sua Sponte for Opportunity to Seek Cancellation
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte after respondent is resentenced to probation, thereby making him eligible to apply for cancellation of removal. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Cwalinski, 3/9/15)
BIA Precludes DHS From Relying on Unconstitutionally Obtained Evidence in Future Proceedings
Unpublished BIA decision terminates proceedings due to egregious Fourth Amendment violation, and states that DHS is precluded from presenting same evidence in any future proceedings. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Pretzantizin, 3/9/15)
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order for Respondent with Flat Tire
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order for respondent who appeared at multiple prior hearings, was the beneficiary of an approved visa petition, and arrived late to hearing due to a flat tire. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Vega-Vargas, 3/9/15)
Amicus Brief on Filing Deadlines When There is Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claim
Amicus brief to the Supreme Court in Mata v. Holder in support of the petitioner, illustrating why filing a MTR based on an ineffective assistance of counsel claim can take a considerable length of time past the 90-day statutory filing deadline.