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
CA1 Affirms Grants of Habeas Corpus Relief for Two Petitioners
The court concluded that petitioners were not subject to mandatory detention under INA §236(c) and were entitled to an individualized bail hearing under INA §236(a), because petitioners were not timely detained under any reasonable interpretation of INA §236(c). (Castañeda v. Souza, 10/6/14)
CBP Issues Guidance on Processing Expedited Removal Cases
CBP issued a memo on processing expedited removal cases, including reminders on the use of the correct forms and charges for expediated removal, asking the four “fear” questions on the I-867B, referring individuals who express a fear of return, and use of interpreters.
CA2 Says Asylum Applicant Is Not Required to Establish Nationality Through Documentary Evidence Alone
The court vacated and remanded with instructions to review the IJ’s adverse credibility finding, and that the BIA erroneously required the petitioner, who claimed he was a stateless Tibetan born in Nepal, to prove his nationality through documentary evidence alone. (Urgen v. Holder, 10/2/14)
CA9 Says NACARA Seven-Year Good Moral Character Period Ends on Filing Date
The court held that an application for special rule cancellation of removal under §203 of NACARA is not a continuing application, and that the seven-year period during which good moral character is required ends on the date of the filing of the application. (Aragon v. Holder, 10/2/14)
BIA Holds Connecticut Third Degree Burglary Statute Not Generic Burglary, May Be Crime of Violence
Unpublished BIA decision holds third degree burglary under Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann 53a-103 is not an aggravated felony “burglary offense” but remands to consider whether it is a “crime of violence.” Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Genego, 10/2/14)
BIA Reverses IJ for Considering Order of Restitution Under Modified Categorical Approach
Unpublished BIA decision holds grand theft under Fla. Stat. 812.014(1) is not a categorical aggravated felony theft offense and that IJ was not permitted to consider order of restitution under the modified categorical approach. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Thompson, 10/1/14)
CA11 Says Florida Aggravated Fleeing Is an Aggravated Felony
The court denied the petition for review, upholding the BIA’s finding that the petitioner’s conviction for aggravated fleeing under Florida statue §316.1935(4)(a) was an aggravated felony and thus was deportable under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(iii). (Dixon v. Att’y Gen., 10/1/14)
DHS OIG Annual Performance Plan for FY2015
DHS’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) annual performance plan for FY2015, detailing planned evaluations on the scalability of USCIS’s visa and immigrant processing, ICE’s practices on I-9 inspections, USCIS’s credible fear screening, alternatives to detention, policies relating to UACs, and more.
Immigration Law Advisor, September 2014 (Vol. 8, No. 7)
The September 2014 Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on assessing the government’s inability or unwillingness to control private persecution, circuit court decisions for August 2014, recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
VOICE: October 2014
In the October 2014 VOICE, learn about the effect of Matter of Chairez on foreigners facing removal for a crime, issues concerning alcohol abuse and waivers of inadmissibility, one attorney’s path to starting her practice out of law school, the benefits of AILA’s Mentor Program, and more!
DOJ OIL October/November 2014 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for October/November 2014, with articles on false claims of citizenship on the Form I-9 and DHS’s actions on immigration, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for October/November 2014 and monthly topical parentheticals.
Immigration Court Practice Manual Updates Appendix A
On 9/30/14, the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge updated Appendix A of the Immigration Court Practice Manual to reflect the closing of the El Centro Immigration Court.
USCIS Response to CIS Ombudsman Recommendations on Improving Quality in Notices to Appear
USCIS response to CIS Ombudsman recommendations on improving the quality and consistency in Notices to Appear (NTA), concurring that USCIS will provide additional guidance for issuing NTAs with input from ICE and EOIR and that USCIS will create a working group to improve tracking and coordination.
CRS Report on DACA FAQs
CRS report on background information on the initial Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, approval and denial rates, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and information on DACA renewals.
Letter from AILA Chapters to the Obama Administration on the Need for Children and Families to Receive Due Process
All of AILA’s U.S.-based chapters signed on to this open letter which calls for the Obama Administration to immediately review its current inhumane and unconstitutional detention and removal policies towards children and families with children.
CA9 Says BIA Abused its Discretion when Denying Motion to Reopen In Absentia Order
The court granted the petition for review, finding that the petitioner should not have lost her right to a hearing because the government improperly recorded, and then sent notice to an old address, rather than the current one she claimed to have given them. (Velasquez v. Holder, 9/29/14)
District Court Reaffirms that ICE Detainers Are Not Mandatory
The district court in Illinois cited Galarza v. Szalczyk to rule that local law enforcement offices should not consider ICE detainers issued pursuant to 8 CFR §287.7 as mandatory. (Moreno v. Napolitano, 9/29/14)
CA7 Upholds BIA’s Approach in Matter of Rodriguez-Rodriguez
The court upheld the BIA’s analysis using as a guide the definition of “sexual abuse” in 18 U.S.C. §3509(a)(8) rather than in 18 U.S.C. §2243(a) to find that petitioner’s violation of California Penal Code §261.5(c) involved “sexual abuse of a minor.” (Velasco-Giron v. Holder, 9/26/14)
AILA Quicktake #98: DHS Announcements on Family Detention
AILA President Leslie Holman discusses the two disturbing announcements made this week by ICE and DHS regarding a new family detention facility in Dilley, Texas, and DHS appealing bond decisions for some mothers and children detained in Artesia, NM.
Letter to President Obama Opposing Family Detention
On 9/25/14, AILA joined 167 organizations in urging President Obama to close the Artesia and Karnes detention centers and to halt plans to open a new family detention facility in Dilley, Texas.
CA7 Denies Consolidated Petition for Review
The court denied the consolidated petition for review, finding that the petitioner did not demonstrate that the IJ or BIA legally erred or denied him due process. (Antia-Perea v. Holder, 9/25/14)
CA2 Says BIA Did Not Err in Denying Suppression Motion or Asylum
The court held that because the petitioner voluntarily conceded his removability in a motion to change venue, the BIA did not err in denying the suppression motion, and also did not err in denying the asylum application. (Vanegas-Ramirez v. Holder, 9/25/14)
BIA Holds Florida Possession of Cocaine With Intent to Sell or Deliver Not on Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver under Fla. Stat. 893.13(1)(a)(1) is not an aggravated felony because no completed commercial transaction is required under the statute. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of M-B-, 9/25/14)
CA6 Rejects BIA’s Narrow Interpretation of §212(h)
The court held that the text of §212(h) is unambiguous and that the bar to seeking a §212(h) waiver of inadmissibility does not apply to persons who adjusted to lawful permanent resident status after having entered into the U.S. by inspection. (Stanovsek v. Holder, 9/24/14)
AILA Amicus Brief on Controlled Substances Convictions
AILA amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court arguing the controlled substances removability ground only applies to convictions for federally controlled substances and conduct prohibited under federal law, and urging the Court to reject improper application of the realistic probability test.