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
Senate Letter to President on Protections of UACs
A 7/10/14 letter from Senators Hirono (D-HI), Gillibrand (D-NY), Heitkamp (D-ND) and Feinstein (D-CA) called on President Obama to humanely address the surge of unaccompanied children at the southern border and consider the humanitarian and legal rights of the unaccompanied children.
Children in Danger: A Guide to the Humanitarian Challenge at the Border
The American Immigration Council has prepared a guide to provide policymakers, the media, and the public with basic information surrounding the current humanitarian challenge the U.S. is facing as thousands of young migrants show up at the southern border.
CA7 Vacates And Remands, Says BIA Did Not Properly Apply Silva-Trevino
The court found the BIA did not properly apply the Silva-Trevino framework in determining that any portion of knowingly or intentionally failing to stop after causing injury under §9-26-1-8 of the Indiana statute categorically qualified as a CIMT. (Sanchez v. Holder, 7/9/14)
CA1 Finds Salvadoran Petitioner Failed to Show Causation in Asylum Claim
The court found that although the nuclear family can be a social group that is the target of persecution, the petitioner, a mother of three sons resisting gang violence in El Salvador, failed to show she would be persecuted as a result of her kinship. (Constanza v. Holder, 7/9/14)
AILA Statement for Senate Appropriations Hearing on UACs
AILA statement submitted to the Senate Appropriations Committee for the 7/10/14 hearing on “Review of the President’s Emergency Supplemental Request for Unaccompanied Children and Related Matters.”
Senate Homeland Security Hearing on Humanitarian Crisis at Southern Border
A 7/9/14 hearing in the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee, “Challenges at the Border: Examining the Causes, Consequences, and Responses to the Rise in Apprehensions at the Southern Border.”
EOIR Factsheet on New Priorities to Address Migrants Crossing into the U.S.
A 7/9/14 Department of Justice factsheet on the steps EOIR will take to refocus its resources to prioritize cases involving migrants who have recently crossed the southwest border and whom DHS has placed into removal proceedings.
EOIR Announcement of New Priorities to Address Migrants Crossing into the U.S.
A 7/9/14 Department of Justice press release announcing that EOIR will refocus its resources to prioritize cases involving migrants who have recently crossed the southwest border and whom DHS has placed into removal proceedings.
USCIS Statistics on Asylum Filings for Minors for FY2014
USCIS provided FY2014 statistics on minor principal applicants (affirmative asylum applicants under the age of 18 at the time of filing) and asylum applicants of any age filed with USCIS under the initial jurisdiction provision of the TVPRA while in removal proceedings.
AILA: Administration Request for Funding – Not Enough to Protect Children
AILA President Leslie Holman detailed some of AILA’s concerns with the administration’s funding request to Congress for additional resources to address the needs of unaccompanied children, noting that ”Some of the request is absolutely essential but much portends steps in the wrong direction.”
White House Fact Sheet on Supplemental Funding Request to Congress
A 7/8/14 White House factsheet detailing the administration’s request for $3.7 billion in supplemental funding for an inter-agency response to the humanitarian crisis affecting the southwest border of the United States.
President's Request to Speaker Boehner for Supplemental Funding for Humanitarian Crisis
A 7/8/14 letter from President Obama to Speaker Boehner (R-OH) requesting $3.7 billion in supplemental funding for an inter-agency response to the humanitarian crisis affecting the southwest border of the United States.
AILA Recommendations on Legal Standards and Protections for Unaccompanied Children
An AILA background document on the current regional humanitarian crisis affecting the southwestern border of the United States, with AILA recommendations on legal standards and protections for unaccompanied children.
CA1 Says BIA Did Not Err in Holding Petitioner to Attorney Concessions of Removability
The court found petitioner failed to demonstrate his attorney’s concessions of removability were so egregious as to warrant releasing him from those concessions and the BIA did not err in determining he was removable based upon his 2009 conviction for a CIMT. (Lima v. Holder, 7/8/14)
BIA Vacates Stipulated Removal Order
Unpublished BIA decision vacates stipulated removal order because IJ did not address whether waiver of hearing was voluntary, knowing, and intelligent, citing 8 CFR 1003.25(b). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Aquino, 7/8/14)
BIA Holds Florida Burglary Not a Categorical CIMT
Unpublished BIA grants motion to reconsider and holds burglary under Fla. Stat. 810.02(2)(a) is not categorical CIMT because certain subsections do not require the structure to be occupied at the time of the breaking. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Reyes, 7/8/14)
BIA Sustains Appeal and Finds Respondent Eligible for Cancellation of Removal
Unpublished BIA decision sustaining the appeal and holding that the respondent was eligible for cancellation of removal, finding that the IJ erred in determining that respondent’s testimony was not credible regarding the dates of entry. Courtesy of Diana M. Bailey.
CA9 Retroactively Applies Terrorism Bar for Asylum Petitioner from Iran
The court held the statutory terrorism bar at INA §212(a)(3)(B) applied retroactively to petitioner’s material support of a Tier III organization, the Mojahedi-e Khalq (MEK), although his activities with MEK in the 1970s occurred before official designation. (Bojnoordi v. Holder, 7/7/14)
CA9 Blocks Arizona Driver’s License Ban for DACA Beneficiaries
The court held it could identify no legitimate state interest that was rationally related to defendants’ decision to treat DACA recipients disparately from other noncitizens who could use their EAD cards when applying for driver’s licenses. (Arizona Dream Act Coalition v. Brewer, 7/7/14)
CBP Announces Immediate Deployment of 150 Border Patrol Agents to Rio Grande Valley
CBP press release announces the immediate deployment of approximately 150 additional Border Patrol agents to the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, where the largest number of unaccompanied minors are arriving. Press release includes information on Dangers Awareness campaign.
National Sign-on Letter Opposing Family Detention
On 7/7/14 AILA joined over 100 other organizations in a sign-on letter to President Obama urging him to end plans to open new immigrant detention centers for families.
National Sign-On Letter on UACs
On 7/3/14, AILA joined over 190 other organizations in a sign-on letter to President Obama urging him to reconsider the plan to expedite the deportation of Central American children to the dangers they escaped in their home countries.
CRS Report on Potential Factors Contributing to Recent UAC Humanitarian Crisis
Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on potential factors, including conditions in Central America and factors within the U.S., that are contributing to the recent unaccompanied child humanitarian crisis.
BIA Says Respondent Can Apply for Adjustment Because Entry Was Procedurally Regular
Unpublished BIA decision sustaining appeal and remanding, citing Matter of Quilantan in finding that for purposes of adjustment of status eligibility, a noncitizen need only prove procedural regularity in her entry and not the precise date. Courtesy of Stephen Yale-Loehr.
BIA Holds California Statutory Rape Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds statutory rape under Cal. Penal Code 261.5(d) is not a CIMT because prosecutors need not show the perpetrator knew or should have known the victim was a minor. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of C-A-E-L-, 7/3/14)