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
CA5 Declines to Review Special Rule Cancellation Denial
The court concluded the government was not required to charge petitioner’s narcotics conviction in the NTA for that conviction to serve as a ground of inadmissibility for cancellation of removal for victims of domestic violence under INA §240A(b)(2). (Rodriguez-Benitez v. Holder, 8/13/14)
BIA Remands Record In Light of Pending U Visa Application
Unpublished BIA decision grants motion to remand in light of evidence submitted on appeal that respondent filed a U visa petition accompanied by required law enforcement certification. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Urban, 8/13/14)
CA3 Declines to Review Withholding Denial for Mexican Gay Male with HIV
In a nonprecedential decision, the court found that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s conclusion that the petitioner failed to present adequate evidence linking harm from his uncle and the police officer in Mexico to his sexual orientation. (Gutierrez v. Att'y Gen., 8/12/14)
CA7 Says IJ’s Decision to Deny Cancellation Did Not Violate Due Process Rights
The court found jurisdiction under INA §242(a)(2)(D) to hold that as cancellation proceedings provide only discretionary relief, the IJ’s decision to deny cancellation did not violate any rights protected by the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process clause. (Adame v. Holder, 8/12/14)
CA2 Says Term of Imprisonment Under INA §101(a)(43)(G) Includes Recidivist Enhancements
The court held the BIA did not err in finding the petitioner removable, since it is the actual sentence imposed, including any recidivist enhancements applied, that is considered when determining the term of imprisonment under INA §101(a)(43)(G). (Dawkins v. Holder, 8/12/14)
CA1 Says IJ and BIA Did Not Adequately Explain El Salvador TPS Denial
The court vacated and remanded, finding that both the IJ and BIA failed to adequately explain the only finding they expressly made in considering the application for temporary protected status (TPS), which related to the date of petitioner’s entry. (Shul v. Holder, 8/11/14)
AILA Quicktake #95: University of Houston Law Center Prepares for Unaccompanied Children
In this Quicktake, AILA member and 2014 Elmer Fried Excellence in Teaching Award winner Geoffrey Hoffman discusses how the University of Houston's Law Center is spearheading efforts to help unaccompanied children placed in the area and how other AILA communities can get involved.
Video: On The Ground In Artesia
AILA members volunteering in Artesia share their on the ground experiences.
Board of Immigration Appeals Practice Manual
Updated version of the Board of Immigration Appeals Practice Manual, dated 8/8/14. Table of changes is listed on page 203.
DHS Update on Apprehensions Along Southwest Border
DHS press release on the number of apprehensions along the Southwest border between January 2014 and July 2014, reflecting a decrease in apprehensions of unaccompanied children and adults with children during the month of July.
DHS Declarations from High-Ranking Immigration Officers on Blanket Policy of “No Release”
DHS signed declarations from two high-ranking immigration officers, submitted in court filings, that explain that "active migration networks" must be stopped and to stop them, a blanket policy of “no release” is required for the recent surge in women and children coming across the southwest border.
CA8 Affirms Cancellation and Withholding Denials for Petitioner from The Gambia
The court held the BIA did not err in finding petitioner ineligible for cancellation, based on false marriage testimony in the adjustment interview, and also did not err in rejecting her withholding claim as a mother of daughters at risk for FGM in Gambia. (Goswell-Renner v. Holder, 8/7/14)
BIA Holds California Grant Theft Not a Fraud-Related Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds grand theft under Cal. Penal Code 487(b)(3) not an aggravated felony under INA 101(a)(43)(M)(i) because it does not entail taking with fraudulently obtained consent. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Rodriguez, 8/7/14)
BIA Finds Salvadoran Respondent a Flight Risk but Sets Bond at $5,000
Unpublished BIA decision sustaining appeal and ordering respondent released on $5,000 bond, finding that although a flight risk, evidence of a fixed address, significant family ties in the U.S., and asylum claim provided incentive to appear at future proceedings. Courtesy of Ivan Yacub.
AILA Amicus Brief on Statutory Bar to Good Moral Character
AILA amicus brief filed with the Tenth Circuit arguing that a sentence reduction by the sentencing court is entitled to full faith and credit for purposes of calculating the 180-day confinement period found in the statutory bar to good moral character.
DOS Releases 15 Asylum Country Profiles To Settle FOIA Lawsuit
Asylum country profiles released by the Department of State in response to a FOIA lawsuit. Special thanks to David Cleveland.
AILA Quicktake #94: Accelerated Master Calendar Hearings for UACs
AILA Southern California Chair Heather Poole discusses due process violations happening as California accelerates master calendar notifications for unaccompanied children.
BIA Sustains Appeal in Cancellation of Removal Denial
The BIA held that false testimony given by respondent more than three years prior to entry of a final administrative order should not be considered in determining whether she is barred from establishing good moral character under INA §101(f)(6). Matter of M-L-M-A-, 26 I&N Dec. 360 (BIA 2014)
CA7 Says Warnings About Frivolous Asylum Bar Were Adequately Translated at Interview
The court held the BIA did not err in when it applied INA §208(d)(6), finding that although the petitioner had limited English proficiency, the interpreter at the asylum interview, who was also convicted of asylum fraud, adequately translated the warnings. (Albu v. Holder, 8/5/14)
CA7 Says IJ and BIA Applied Wrong Legal Standard and Misconstrued Evidence in Asylum Case
The court remanded, finding that the IJ and BIA applied the wrong legal standard in concluding petitioner was not persecuted in Belarus on account of her political opinion and misconstrued and disregarded important evidence. (Sobaleva v. Holder, 7/24/14)
CA2 Remands, Says IJ Applied Incorrect and Overly Stringent Legal Standard in Nepali Asylum Claim
The court remanded, finding that the IJ erred when it held the petitioner to the requirement of demonstrating that political opinion was the “central” as opposed to “at least one central” ground for persecution by the Nepali Maoists. (Acharya v. Holder, 8/5/14)
TRAC Report Finding Rise in Asylum Denial Rates
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) report finding that the odds of an asylum claim being denied in immigration court has risen to 50.2 percent during the first nine months of 2014. Report includes 270 accounts on each immigration judge with at least 100 asylum decisions since FY2009.
AILA Quicktake #93: Legislative Update
AILA Senior Associate Director of Advocacy Bob Sakaniwa provides an update on the legislative activities that happened last week before Congress went on a five-week recess.
AILA Quicktake #92: Refusing Bond for Central American Detainees
AILA Past President Laura Lichter joins us via Skype from Artesia, NM, where she is working on the ground to help Central American refugees at the family detention center. She discusses why bond should be allowed for detainees in the center.
USCIS DACA Toolkit for Community Partners
USCIS provided a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) toolkit for community partners, including a program overview, a “how do I” guide, FAQs, and list of federal government resources pertaining to DACA. DACA renewal information is included.