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
BIA Dismisses IAC Claim For Attorney’s Failure to Submit Bar Complaint Against Herself
Unpublished BIA decision dismisses motion to reopen because the attorney did not notify the state bar of the inadequacy of her own representation and because the respondent did not show substantial compliance with Matter of Lozada. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Lei, 8/27/14)
BIA Reopens Proceedings Sua Sponte In Light of Tenth Circuit Decision on Child Abuse
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte in light of intervening decision in Ibarra v. Holder, holding that Colo. Rev. Stat. 18-16-401 is not a categorical crime of child abuse or neglect. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Espinoza, 8/26/14)
BIA Says Guatemalan Victim of Domestic Violence Is a Member of a Particular Social Group
The BIA held depending on specific facts, “married women in Guatemala who are unable to leave their relationship” can constitute a cognizable particular social group for asylum or withholding purposes. AILA submitted an amicus brief on this case. Matter of A-R-C-G-, 26 I&N Dec. 388 (BIA 2014)
BIA Terminates Removal Proceedings for Respondent from Bosnia-Herzegovina
Unpublished BIA decision finding that respondent’s willful misrepresentations of his military service in the Army of the Republika Srpska were not material, as they could not have influenced the decision to admit him as a refugee and grant his adjustment application. Courtesy of Paul Djurisic.
CA9 Finds Indian Petitioner Eligible for Asylum Based on His Imputed Political Opinion
The court found the petitioner eligible for asylum and withholding, holding that mixed-motive analysis applies to cases governed by the REAL ID Act and that the petitioner’s imputed political opinion was at least one central reason the Indian police targeted him. (Singh v. Holder, 8/26/14)
CA9 Holds Substantial Evidence Does Not Support BIA’s Adverse Credibility Determination
The court found the BIA’s adverse credibility determination was flawed when it relied on petitioner’s omission until cross-examination of details concerning third parties, which were not contradictory to his earlier testimony or application materials. (Lai v. Holder, 8/25/14, amended 11/4/14)
CA8 Declines to Review Cancellation Denial for Lack of Jurisdiction
The court found it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA’s discretionary finding that petitioner’s removal would not result in extreme hardship and that there was no right to due process in the cancellation of removal remedy. (Hernandez-Garcia v. Holder, 8/25/14)
CA8 Says Salvadoran Petitioner Did Not Identify a Particular Social Group
The court agreed with the BIA that “men in El Salvador who fear gang violence because of a former gang member who is also their family member” was not a particular social group because it did not satisfy the visibility requirement. (Fuentes v. Holder, 8/22/14)
CA8 Vacates and Remands, Asks BIA to Clarify Frivolous Asylum Determination
The court found the BIA did not adequately explain its frivolous asylum determination relating to the fabrication of the preparer’s name and remanded with instructions to reconsider and clarify its decision. (Limbeya v. Holder, 8/22/14)
CA9 Grants Petition for Review, Finds BIA Misused Modified Categorical Approach
The court reversed and remanded, holding petitioner’s conviction of attempted second degree burglary under California Penal Code §459 could not qualify as an attempted theft offense under INA §101(a)(43)(U) and it did not render him ineligible for cancellation. (Rendon v. Holder, 8/22/14)
BIA on Terminating Deferral of Removal Under CAT
The BIA concluded that collateral estoppel does not prevent the IJ from reevaluating the alien’s credibility by comparing testimony when granted deferral of removal to testimony given at the termination hearing under 8 CFR §1208.17(d)(3). Matter of C-C-I-, 26 I&N Dec. 375 (BIA 2014)
BIA Holds Guilty Plea Without Conviction Not an Admission of Crime
Unpublished BIA decision states that a guilty plea which results in something less than a "conviction" is not tantamount to an "admission" of the crime. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Garcia, 6/5/14)
IJ Grants Motion to Suppress, Finds Traffic Stop Was Egregious Violation of Fourth Amendment
The IJ granted the motions to suppress and terminated removal proceedings for two respondents, finding respondents showed the traffic stop was unconstitutional, as it was not done “pending inquiry into a vehicular violation,” but because of ethnic appearance. Courtesy of Brian C. DiFranco.
Groups Sue over Artesia Deportation Process for Mothers and Children Escaping Violence in Central America
Complaint filed by AIC and other advocacy groups against the government, challenging policies denying due process to mothers and children who have fled extreme violence in Central America and are detained in Artesia, NM and asking the court to halt deportations. (M.S.P.C. v. Johnson, 8/22/14)
BIA Holds Grant of U Status Qualifies as “Admission”
Unpublished BIA decision holds noncitizen granted U nonimmigrant status within the United States was “admitted” for purposes of INA 237(a) and properly subject to grounds of deportability. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ramirez-Lainez, 8/21/14)
BIA Dismisses Charges of Removability Under INA §§237(a)(2)(A)(iii) and 237(a)(2)(E)(i)
Unpublished BIA decision terminating removal proceedings, finding Ninth Circuit law precluded respondent from being removable for an aggravated felony and his conviction of attempted child molestation under Washington law did not qualify as a crime of child abuse. Courtesy of Robert L. Jaeggli.
CA7 Says Petitioner Is Eligible for §212(c) Relief
The court remanded the §212(c) denial, concluding the BIA committed legal error by failing to follow its own precedent and giving substantial weight to an arrest report absent a conviction or corroborating evidence of the allegations contained therein. (Avila-Ramirez v. Holder, 8/21/14)
CA2 Says New York Third Degree Arson Is an Aggravated Felony
The court deferred to the BIA’s reasonable determination that a conviction for attempted third degree arson under New York Penal Law §§110 and 150.10 constitutes an aggravated felony, rendering the petitioner ineligible for cancellation of removal. (Torres v. Holder, 8/20/14)
CA2 Denies Relief, Says Organized Crime Convention Is Not Self-Executing
The court denied the petition for review, finding that the witness protection provisions of the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (CATOC) were not self-executing and could not be enforced absent implementing legislation. (Doe v. Holder, 8/19/14)
CA2 Says Chinese Petitioner’s Pro-Democracy Activism Constitutes Changed Circumstances
The court remanded, finding the IJ erred when holding that because petitioner’s pro-democracy political opinion reflected views he had when he emigrated, the activism did not constitute changed circumstances that excused untimeliness pursuant to INA §208 (a)(2)(D). (Lin v. Holder, 8/19/14)
CA10 Asks BIA to Clarify Whether Discrepancies Provide Sufficient Basis for Denying Cancellation
The court held the BIA acted within its discretion in rejecting the wife’s ineffective representation of counsel claim but remanded the husband’s claim to clarify whether the discrepancies relating to continuous residence were sufficient for denying cancellation. (Rivera v. Holder, 8/19/14)
CA11 Says Petitioner Failed to Exhaust Argument that She Did Not Commit an Aggravated Felony
The court held the petitioner failed to exhaust her only ground for her expedited removal that her conviction for battery was not an aggravated felony and the BIA did not err when it rejected her withholding and CAT claims relating to sexual orientation. (Malu v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 8/19/14)
ICE Posts Its Bond Procedures Manual as a Result of FOIA Lawsuit
ICE published the agency’s Bond Management Handbook, a manual that provides instruction to agency staff about bond payment procedures, in its electronic library as a result of a lawsuit filed by the American Immigration Council and a number of bond funds from across the country.
CA9 Transfers U.S. Citizenship Claim to District Court for Evidentiary Findings
The court held that the petitioner may be able to establish citizenship if he could show that the INS’s mishandling of naturalization applications by petitioner and his mother resulted in a violation of his due process rights. (Brown v. Holder, 8/18/14)
CA3 Affirms Cancellation Denial and Ineligibility for §212(h) Relief
The court found Va. Code Ann. §54.1-3466 was sufficiently "related to" controlled substances for purposes of §212(a)(2)(A)(i)(II) and an inconclusive record of conviction did not satisfy petitioner’s burden of demonstrating eligibility for relief from removal. (Syblis v. Att'y Gen., 8/18/14)