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 Holds Iowa Delivery of Marijuana Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds delivery of marijuana under Iowa Code 124.401(1)(d) is not a drug trafficking aggravated felony under Moncrieffe v. Holder. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Telesford, 5/27/14)
CA7 Says BIA Did Not Satisfy Hashmi Factors in Granting Continuance
The court held the BIA abused its discretion in denying the continuance pending adjudication of the I-130, as a continuance was needed due to USCIS’s carelessness in losing supporting materials about the potential fraudulent nature of petitioner’s second marriage. (Yang v. Holder, 7/25/14)
CA6 Says Petitioner Failed to State a Claim under the APA
The court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the complaint, holding that USCIS’s termination of refugee status and denial of the adjustment application were not “final agency actions” reviewable in district court under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). (Jama v. DHS, 7/25/14)
BIA Withdraws from Lanferman, Citing Descamps
The BIA held that it did not have authority to continue to apply the divisibility analysis used in Lanferman and found respondent was not removable due to an aggravated felony but was removable due to his firearms conviction. Matter of Chairez-Castrejon, 26 I&N Dec. 349 (BIA 2014)
AILA: Artesia Detention Center a Due Process Failure
Following a visit to the Artesia detention facility this week and observing severe due process violations, AILA calls for the suspension of all deportations from the facility until fundamental improvements can be made.
AILA Quicktake #91: The Artesia Experience
Olsi Vrapi, AILA member and managing partner of Noble & Vrapi, joins us via Skype to discuss his experience at Artesia, a family detention center located in New Mexico set up to house families from Central America.
Special Member Update: Response to Central American Humanitarian Crisis (Updated 7/25/14)
AILA National has been coordinating efforts to effect change on the UAC humanitarian crisis through liaison, legislative, and policy channels, as well as coordinating a pro bono response. This update is on what we know, what actions we are continuing to pursue, and how you can get involved.
AILA: House Republican Plan Will Endanger Children Fleeing Violence and Persecution
AILA’s President Leslie Holman discusses the House Republican plan to address the humanitarian crisis at the southern border as a plan that, “will harm vulnerable child victims of violence.”
Speaker Boehner Letter to President Obama on TPVRA
A 7/23/14 letter from Speaker Boehner (R-OH) to President Obama arguing that it will be difficult to make “progress on this issue without strong, public support from the White House for much-needed reforms, including changes to the 2008 [TVPRA] law.”
House GOP Working Group Recommendations on Humanitarian Crisis
Recommendations of the Republican working group assembled by Speaker Boehner (R-OH) and led by Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) in response to the humanitarian crisis in Central America.
CA7 on CSPA “Sought to Acquire” Standard
The court remanded for the BIA to determine whether petitioner took “substantial steps” to acquire permanent status within one year of his eligibility, as required by the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) standard in effect prior to Matter of O. Vasquez. (Velásquez v. Holder, 7/23/14)
CA9 Affirms Government’s Modified Categorical Approach for Controlled Substance Offense
The court held DHS could consider a page in the indictment that described the controlled substance as methamphetamine because the statement was specifically incorporated into petitioner’s plea agreement as the factual basis supporting his guilty plea. (Alvarado v. Holder, 7/23/14)
CA1 Remands Asylum Denial for Mayan Quiché Petitioner from Guatemala
The court vacated and remanded the asylum denial, finding that the petitioner showed his Mayan Quiché identity was at least one central reason why he and his community were targeted by the Guatemalan army. (Ordonez-Quino v. Holder, 7/23/14)
NAIJ Letter to Senate Leadership on Juveniles in Immigration Courts
A 7/22/14 letter from the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ) to Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on the unique concerns and protections that should be afforded juveniles in immigration courts.
NAIJ Letter to House Leadership on Juveniles in Immigration Courts
A 7/22/14 letter from the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ) to Speaker John Boehner and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on juveniles in immigration courts, stating that children and juveniles are a vulnerable population with special needs under the judicial system.
Sign-on Letter to Senate Appropriations on Counsel for Children
On 7/22/14, AILA joined 48 organizations in a sign-on letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee on the need for adequate funding for legal representation for all children.
Legislation Addressing the Central American Humanitarian Crisis (Updated 7/29/14)
A round-up of all legislation introduced after June 2014 addressing the humanitarian crisis in Central American and the impact on the southern border of the United States.
AILA: Terrible Legislation Would Shred Protections for Children Seeking Refuge
AILA’s President Leslie Holman describes two recently introduced bills relating to unaccompanied children that would “essentially gut the protections currently afforded children who may be trafficking victims or are fleeing untenable violence.”
Section-by-Section of Goodlatte H.R. 5137 (Goodlatte UAC Bill)
An AILA section-by-section of H.R. 5137, the “Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act,” introduced by Reps. Goodlatte (R-VA) and Chaffetz (R-UT). The bill seeks to “to stop the surge of children, teenagers, and families from Central America seeking to enter the United States illegally.”
CRS Report on Legal Issues Surrounding Unaccompanied Alien Children
CRS report including FAQs on the legal issues concerning unaccompanied alien children including the interpretation and interplay of various federal statutes and regulations, administrative and judicial decisions, and settlement agreements pertaining to these immigrant minors.
CA4 Remands Asylum Denial for Salvadoran Petitioner Fleeing MS-13
The court granted the petition for review and remanded, finding that even though other members of the petitioner’s family may not have been “uniquely or specially targeted” by the MS-13 gang, this fact did not did not undermine petitioner’s own fear of persecution. (Aquino v. Holder, 7/18/14)
BIA Orders Further Consideration of Adjustment Application After Submission of Evidence on Appeal
Unpublished BIA decision remands for further consideration of adjustment application after respondent submits affidavit of support (Form I-864) and medical exam (Form I-693) while appeal was pending. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Moung, 7/18/14)
AAO Sustains Appeal of I-601 Waiver for Unlawful Presence and Finds Assault Conviction Is not a CIMT
AAO decision sustaining appeal of an I-601 waiver for unlawful presence, finding applicant’s spouse would suffer extreme hardship and the conviction under Maryland Code Art 27, §12A(a) and (b) for simple assault was not a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). Courtesy of Michelle Mendez.
BIA Says Mental Health Should Not Be Considered in “Particularly Serious Crime” Analysis
The BIA held that a noncitizen’s mental health is not a factor to be considered in assessing whether he or she has been convicted of a particularly serious crime under INA §241(b)(3)(B). Matter of G-G-S-, 26 I&N Dec. 339 (BIA 2014)
AILA Quicktake #90: Legislative Update on Unaccompanied Minors
AILA's Advocacy Director Greg Chen updates on the progress of the President's supplemental in Congress and discusses the proposed bill by Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar that would make it easier to deport unaccompanied migrant children to their home countries.