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
DHS OIG Report on ICE’s Release of Immigration Detainees
DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) report on factors influencing ICE’s decision to release 2,226 immigration detainees in 2013, with recommendations for improving transparency in funding sources for managing detention bed space and for reporting ICE budget expenditures.
CA1 Declines to Review MTR for Christian Asylum Seeker from Indonesia
The court declined to review the motion to reopen (MTR), concluding that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in finding that the petitioner’s new evidence was largely cumulative and thus did not establish changed country conditions in Indonesia. (Sugiarto v. Holder, 8/1/14)
CA10 Holds BIA Did Not Abuse its Discretion in Affirming IJ’s Dismissal of Cancellation Application
The court found the IJ acted within his authority under §1003.47(c) to determine that petitioner’s failure to complete the biometrics requirement and provide supporting documentation for his cancellation application, after two years, constituted abandonment. (Ramirez-Coria v. Holder, 8/1/14)
South Texas ICE Detention Facility to House Adults with Children
ICE news release stating that beginning 8/1/14, and in response to the influx of families that have been detained at the southern border, ICE will use its civil detention facility in Karnes City to house adults with children.
DHS OIG Memo on Site Visits for UACs in DHS Custody
DHS OIG memo on 87 unannounced site visits conducted from July 1-16, 2014, at 63 detention centers along U.S. southern border, concerning detention conditions for unaccompanied alien children (UAC) in DHS custody. Memo includes checklist, findings, and suggestions.
AIC Practice Advisory on Duran Gonzalez Class Action
The American Immigration Council’s Legal Action Center released a practice advisory on adjustment of status under 245(i) for noncitizens who had previously been removed and Duran Gonzalez, a Ninth Circuit class action challenging DHS’s refusal to follow Perez-Gonzalez.
AILA: U.S. Shamefully Detaining Families Seeking Asylum with "Bond" Rule
AILA’s President Leslie Holman discusses the U.S. government’s decision to refuse release on bond of Central American mothers and children. “They should be permitted to seek the comfort and stability of life outside a detention facility while they wait for a fair decision.”
CRS Memo on Current Laws Governing Removal of UACs
A Congressional Research Service (CRS) memo on the current laws governing the removal of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) from the U.S. Included is a chart comparing current law with three legislative proposed introduced in June/July 2014 that would significantly modify treatment of UACs.
CRS Report on Asylum and Expedited Removal Policies for Unaccompanied Children and Families
Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on how unaccompanied children are treated in comparison to unauthorized adults and families with children in the specific contexts of asylum and expedited removal.
Notes from CIS Ombudsman 2014 Annual Report Webinar
AILA notes from CIS Ombudsman’s 7/30/14 webinar presentation to stakeholders about their annual report. Topics include provisional waivers, SIJ adjudications, DACA, employment-based issues, AAO, SAVE, G-28s, ELIS, processing times, USCIS Customer Service requests, and fee waivers.
VOICE: July/August 2014
In the July/August 2014 VOICE, learn about opening a law office abroad, representing witnesses who cooperate with U.S. government officials, using your Agora digital library, visiting Hong Kong for business, and more!
CA1 Remands for BIA to Review IJ’s Factual Error in Salvadoran Asylum Case
The court remanded and asked the BIA to review whether the factual error by the IJ, which related to extortion by a gang in El Salvador, was material or harmless, as well as whether the error affected the petitioner’s asylum claim. (Perez v. Holder, 7/30/14)
BIA Holds Vacated Criminal Conviction Not an “Admission” of Controlled Substance Violation
Unpublished BIA decision terminates proceedings against returning LPR upon finding a prior drug conviction that was subsequently vacated did not constitute an “admission” of a controlled substance violation. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Martinez, 7/30/14)
BIA Finds LPR Did Not Abandon Status or Deliberately Misreport Length of Prior Trips Abroad
Unpublished BIA decision finds DHS did not prove the respondent intended to abandon his LPR status by taking numerous lengthy trips to Yemen or that he deliberately misreported the length of his trips on a prior naturalization application. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ahmed, 7/29/14)
CA1 Declines to Review Asylum Denial for Guatemalan Child Fleeing Gang Violence
The court declined to review the asylum denial, finding that the petitioner failed to establish a viable nexus between the identified persecution and his claimed social group of abandoned Guatemalan children lacking protection from gang violence. (Guerra v. Holder, 7/29/14)
CA1 Finds Petitioner Did Not Demonstrate Good Faith Needed for Hardship Waiver
The court declined to review the denial of the waiver to remove conditions, finding the petitioner failed to establish that he entered into his marriage in good faith, as the record lacked detail and lacked evidence of commingling finances and cohabitation. (Lamim v. Holder, 7/29/14)
CA8 Lacks Jurisdiction to Review BIA’s Refusal to Reopen Sua Sponte and MTR Denial
The court found that the publication of Descamps was not the kind of fundamental change in law for which sua sponte reopening was warranted, and also found that it lacked jurisdiction to review the motion to reopen (MTR) denial. (Barajas-Salinas v. Holder, 7/29/14)
National Sign-On Letter on Supplemental Funding
On 7/29/2014 AILA joined over 190 other organizations in a sign on letter to the House and Senate urging the passage of a clean supplemental funding bill and opposing changes to the TVPRA that would water down protections for children.
Written Testimony of Leon Rodriguez on Oversight of USCIS
Written testimony of Leon Rodriguez from a 7/29/14 hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on oversight of USCIS, covering a wide range of topics including the timely adjudication of I-130 immediate relative petitions, L-1A site visits, DACA, EB-5, transformation, and unaccompanied minors.
National Sign-On Letter to House on Supplemental Funding
On 7/29/14 AILA joined 190 other organizations in a sign-on letter to the House urging the passage of a clean supplemental funding bill and opposing changes to the TVPRA that would water down protections for children.
Proposed House and Senate Emergency Appropriations Bills
In July 2014 the House and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairs, Representative Hal Rogers (R-KY) and Senator Barbara Mikulski (R-MD) respectively, introduced legislation to provide supplemental funding to address the Central American humanitarian crisis impact on the southern border.
CA8 Says Conviction for Grand Theft Auto Is Aggravated Felony
The court held the BIA did not err in determining that petitioner’s 1989 conviction for grand theft auto was an aggravated felony, as it found that the conditional probationary 365 day county jail sentence was a term of imprisonment of at least one year. (Hernandez v. Holder, 7/28/14)
CA8 Says Iowa Tampering With Records Conviction Is Categorically a CIMT
The court upheld the BIA’s conclusion that petitioner’s conviction for tampering with records under Iowa Code §715A.5 was categorically a CIMT, rendering him statutorily ineligible for cancellation of removal. (Villatoro v. Holder, 7/28/14)
BIA Finds IJ Failed to Advise Respondent of Eligibility for Voluntary Departure
Unpublished BIA decision remands record upon finding IJ committed legal error by failing to advise the respondent of his eligibility to apply for post-conclusion voluntary departure. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Banos, 7/28/14)
BIA Terminates Proceedings Against Respondent Accused of Cocaine Possession
Unpublished BIA decision terminates proceedings against respondent convicted of drug possession because the lab report finding the substance was cocaine was not relied upon by the criminal court. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Perez Flores, 7/28/14)