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
AILA's Take on Detention
AILA’s take on detention, with a specific focus on ending the detention bed quota, affording due process to those who are detained, and encouraging the greater use of alternatives to detention.
EOIR Comment Request on Immigration Practitioner Complaint Form
EOIR 60-day comment request on the Immigration Practitioner Complaint Form, used by individuals who wish to file a complaint against an immigration practitioner authorized to appear before the BIA and the immigration courts. Comments will be accepted until 6/2/14. (79 FR 18581, 4/2/14)
DACA SOP for Form I-821D and Form I-765
The National Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Forms I-821D and I-765, prepared by the Service Center Operations Directorate. Manual is dated April 4, 2013, version 2.0 and was provided to AIC and NILC in response to a FOIA request.
MPI Report on Reconciling Tough and Humane Enforcement
Migration Policy Institute (MPI) April 2014 report analyzing current pipelines for removal and key trends in border and interior apprehensions, deportations and criminal prosecutions, and examining policy levers the Obama administration has to influence deportation policies, practices, and results.
AILA Amicus Brief in First Circuit on Mandatory Detention Under §236(c)
AILA amicus brief filed with the First Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that mandatory detention under INA §236(c) does not apply to noncitizens taken into immigration custody well after being released from the predicate criminal custody.
CA7 Declines to Review Untimely Motion to Reopen
The petitioners sought to reopen their removal proceedings to administratively close their case and seek a provisional waiver of their inadmissibility, and the court denied the petition for review, as the motion to reopen the asylum denial was untimely. (Patel v. Holder, 4/1/14)
DOJ OIL April 2014 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for April 2014, with articles on persecution in relation to political affiliation and social groups as well as the application of IIRIRA’s reinstatement provision. The bulletin also contains recent circuit court decisions and EOIR statistics for FY2013.
CA9 Remands for BIA to Determine Whether California Assault Crime is a CIMT
The en banc court granted the petition for review and remanded for the BIA to determine in the first instance whether California Penal Code §245(a)(1), assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, constituted a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). (Ceron v. Holder, 3/31/14)
CA9 on INA §241(a)(5)
The court denied the petition, holding that the application to petitioner of the reinstatement statue was not impermissibly retroactive, because he had taken no action to vest any right he may have initially had to renew his application for adjustment of status. (Ortega v. Holder, 3/31/14)
BIA Orders Further Consideration of Adjustment Application under 245(i)
Unpublished BIA decision remands for further consideration of adjustment application under section 245(i) where IJ should have accepted partially complete evidence and failed to analyze positive and negative equities. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Hernandez, 3/31/14)
BIA Holds Virginia Grand Larceny Not a Theft-Related Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds grand larceny under Va. Code 18.2-95 is not a categorical theft-related aggravated felony because the statute can be applied to fraud offenses, but that the statute is divisible under Descamps. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ramirez, 3/31/14)
BIA Reopens and Terminates Proceedings After Post-Departure Bar Struck Down
Unpublished BIA decision reopens and terminates proceedings in light of DHS non-opposition following remand from First Circuit decision striking down post-departure bar in 8 CFR 1003.2(d). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Perez, 3/31/14)
CA3 Says Pennsylvania Indecent Assault Conviction Is an Aggravated Felony
The court found the BIA reasonably determined that “indecent” contact referred to in the PA indecent assault statute categorically constituted molestation, and by extension, sexual abuse of a minor, and found petitioner removable under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(iii). (Cadapan v. Att'y Gen., 3/30/14)
BIA Holds North Carolina Assault on Female Not a CIMT or Crime of Domestic Violence
Unpublished BIA decision holds assault on female under N.C. Stat. 14-33(c)(2) is not a categorical CIMT or a crime of domestic violence, and that the statue is not divisible under Descamps v. U.S., 133 S. Ct. 2276 (2013). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Jurado, 3/28/14)
BIA Faults IJ For Incorporating By Reference to DHS Brief
Unpublished BIA decision remands record where IJ issued summary decision incorporating by reference the reasoning in the DHS brief. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Yang, 3/28/14)
BIA Grants Remand After Filing of U Visa Application
Unpublished BIA decision grants motion to remand over DHS opposition in light of filing of U visa petition supported by approved law enforcement certification. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ramos, 3/28/14)
BIA on §237(a)(1)(H) Waiver Eligibility
Unpublished BIA decision agreeing with the IJ that respondent was statutorily eligible for a waiver of deportability under §237(a)(1)(H) as a matter of discretion, even though he failed to disclose his time in the Serbian Army. Courtesy of Marshal E. Hyman.
BIA on “Lawful Status” Requirement and Renewed Adjustment Applications
Unpublished BIA decision states that applicants who renew adjustment application in removal proceedings need not have maintained “lawful status” if requirement was met when application was originally filed with USCIS. (Matter of Lee, 3/27/14) Special thanks to IRAC.
BIA on Readjustment Under INA § 209(b)
The Board held that an alien whose status has been adjusted from asylee to lawful permanent resident cannot subsequently readjust status under INA §209(b). Matter of C-J-H-, 26 I&N Dec. 284 (BIA 2014).
CA3 Finds Smuggling Bar Does not Apply to Petitioner’s Conduct
The court reversed and remanded, finding that since petitioner’s conviction was based on transporting noncitizens when they were already in the U.S. and no conduct related to assisting their entry, the § 212(a)(6)(E)(i) smuggling bar did not apply. (Parra-Rojas v. Att'y Gen., 3/26/14)
AILA's Recommendations to DHS on Enforcement (Updated 4/3/14)
These are AILA's recommendations for the Department of Homeland Security to consider immediately to protect families and ensure enforcement practices comport with the American values of due process, equal rights, and human dignity.
BIA Remands for Consideration of Relief Under Former §212(c)
Unpublished BIA decision granting the motion to reopen and remanding for consideration of the respondent’s application for relief under former §212(c), in light of the holdings in INS v. St. Cyr and Vartelas v. Holder. Courtesy of Siana J. McLean.
BIA Upholds Grant of §237(a)(1)(H) Waiver
Unpublished BIA decision upholds grant of waiver under INA §237(a)(1)(H) where DHS failed to preserve argument regarding respondent’s participation in Srebrenica Massacre, and where respondent merited a favorable exercise of discretion. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of B-S-, 3/24/14)
BIA Says Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Can Excuse Failure to Appear
Unpublished BIA decision remands for consideration of whether respondent’s failure to appear was due to exceptional circumstances, including ineffective assistance of counsel. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Gomez-Alonzo, 3/26/14)
BIA Remands to Consider Eligibility for Provisional Waiver
Unpublished BIA decision remands record in light of intervening publication of final regulations establishing provisional unlawful presence waivers (Form I-601A), and if so, whether administrative closure was appropriate. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Paredes, 3/24/14)