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 Remands for Consideration of Unadjudicated Motions to Reopen
Unpublished BIA decision remands for consideration of motions to reopen based on changed country conditions in Russia that the IJ failed to adjudicate (Matter of Drabovskiy, 12/12/13) Special thanks to IRAC.
CA8 Remands Adverse Credibility Finding in Chinese Forced Abortion Case
The court granted the petition, finding that the BIA erred by adopting the IJ’s adverse credibility finding that was not supported by substantial evidence and discrediting the petitioner’s claim of past persecution in the form of a forced abortion in China. (Zhang v. Holder, 12/11/13)
CA7 Declines to Review Asylum Denial for Chinese Petitioner from Fujian Province
The court declined to review the asylum denial, noting that although the BIA and IJ’s opinions were flawed, the inadequacy of the lawyer’s brief, along with petitioner’s failure to present evidence of her financial situation, precluded vacating the asylum denial. (Chen v. Holder, 12/11/13)
CA4 Affirms Denial of Naturalization Application
The plaintiff argued the misrepresentations of her marital history on the adjustment application were due to attorney error, and the court affirmed the denial of her naturalization application, finding that she was not lawfully admitted for permanent residence. (Injeti v. USCIS, 12/11/13)
CA4 Finds Petitioner Ineligible for NACARA Relief Because of Persecutor Bar
The court denied the petition for review and agreed with the IJ and BIA that the petitioner, who was seeking cancellation of removal under NACARA, did not establish by a preponderance of the evidence that he did not engage in persecution in his home country. (Pastora v. Holder, 12/11/13)
BIA Upholds Decision Finding False Claim to Citizenship
Unpublished BIA decision finds respondent made false claim to U.S. citizenship by watching a third party complete a Form I-9 using a U.S. birth certificate issued in same name used on false state identification card. (Matter of Castillo, 12/11/13) Special thanks to IRAC
CA6 Upholds Qualified Immunity for ICE Agents Who Issued Detainer to USC
The court upheld the lower court’s finding of qualified immunity for the ICE defendants, finding the U.S. citizen plaintiff had no clearly established liberty interest in home confinement at the time he was transferred to a local jail as a result of a detainer. (Ortega v. ICE, 12/10/13)
CA2 Rejects Claim to Automatic Derivative Citizenship
The court held that petitioner was not entitled to automatic citizenship under former INA §321(a)(3) because his parents were never married and thus there could be no “legal separation” as required under the statute. (Pierre v. Holder, 12/10/13)
CA5 Says Drug Trafficking Conviction Is Not Required for Removal Under §212(a)(2)(C)
The court dismissed the petition, finding that a prior drug trafficking conviction was not required for removal under §212(a)(2)(C), and that DHS presented sufficient evidence to demonstrate it had “reason to believe” petitioner was an illegal drug trafficker. (Cuevas v. Holder, 12/10/13)
Practice Pointer: Understanding the 11/15/13 Policy Memorandum on Parole of Certain Military Family Members
AILA Military Assistance Project Practice Pointer on the 11/15/13 USCIS policy memorandum stating that it is generally an appropriate exercise of discretion to grant parole in place to certain military family members and clarifying the Adjudicator’s Field Manual to ensure consistent adjudication.
CA2 Finds BIA Abused Its Discretion in Chinese Christian’s MTR
The court found the BIA abused its discretion when it denied petitioner’s MTR because she had not submitted a sworn statement in support of the new evidence she proffered, and because her expert witness had not provided copies of the sources on which he relied. (Indradjaja v. Holder, 12/9/13)
BIA Remands After Finding Methamphetamine Conviction Not An Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision where the Board remanded after disagreeing with the IJ’s holding that the DHS had established that the respondent’s 2013 Oregon state conviction for delivery of methamphetamines constituted a conviction for an aggravated felony. Courtesy of Robert Jaeggli.
BIA Upholds Denial of Continuance for Post-Conviction Relief
Unpublished BIA decision upholds denial of continuance because respondent did not present evidence that motion for post-conviction relief would be adjudicated in “foreseeable future.” (Matter of Rosel, 12/9/13) Special thanks to IRAC.
BIA Remands for Consideration of 212(c) Relief
Unpublished BIA decision where the Board found that the Supreme Court precedent in Vartelas v. Holder allowed for the IJ to consider 212(c) relief since the respondent’s sole conviction pre-dated AEDPA and IIRIRA. Courtesy of Maude Laroche-St. Fleur.
BIA Terminates Removal Proceedings After Finding Domestic Abuse Conviction Not Divisible
Unpublished BIA decision terminating proceedings after finding that a conviction of domestic abuse, a misdemeanor under Oklahoma statute, is not divisible as it only references one crime and therefore the modified categorical approach used by the IJ was inapplicable. Courtesy of Kelli Stump.
CA1 Dismisses Motion to Reconsider for Lack of Jurisdiction
The court found no jurisdiction to review a final order of the BIA refusing to reconsider a previous denial of a motion to reopen. (Charuc v. Holder, 12/6/13)
BIA Reverses Denial of Continuance For Respondent Not Advised to Bring Witnesses to Next Hearing
Unpublished BIA decision reverses denial of request for continuance where IJ who presided over previous hearing did not instruct respondent to bring witnesses to testify in support of his adjustment application. (Matter of Aguilar-Morales, 12/6/13) Special thanks to IRAC.
AILA New Members Division E-News, December 2013 (Vol. 5, Issue 6)
This latest edition brings you expert practice tips related to working with consular posts, USCIS RFEs for H-1B petitions, and removal defense. Plus, don’t miss an article on an NMD member’s unique adjustment of status case.
BIA Holds Claiming “Citizen or National” on Form I-9 Not Sufficient for DHS to Establish False Claim to Citizenship
Unpublished BIA decision finding DHS failed to establish removability against respondent who checked “citizen or national” box on I-9, dismisses appeal as respondent did not establish she was “clearly and beyond doubt” not inadmissible. (Matter of Nyabwari, 12/5/13) Special thanks to IRAC.
BIA Finds Records Downloaded From PACER Properly Authenticated
Unpublished BIA decision finds DHS certification that criminal records were downloaded from PACER sufficient for purposes of authentication. (Matter of Aviles, 12/5/13) Special thanks to IRAC.
CBO Score for the SAFE Act (HR 2278)
The 12/5/13 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cost estimate for H.R. 2278, the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act (the SAFE Act).
CA9 Says IJ/BIA Did Not Violate Due Process by Relying on Hearsay DOS Investigation
The court held that due process is not violated when the IJ/BIA denies asylum based solely on unsworn, unauthenticated hearsay letters detailing a DOS investigation that were prepared for litigation without affording the petitioner the right to confront the charges. (Angov v. Holder, 12/4/13)
CA7 Dismisses Petitions to Review §212(c) Relief
The court denied the petitions for review, upholding the BIA’s findings that as a matter of discretion, petitioner would not receive §212(c) relief because of the nature of his conviction of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and sua sponte review was not warranted. (Shah v. Holder, 12/4/13)
Military Mixed Messages
A couple of weeks ago we heard from USCIS that adjudicators would be encouraged to use “Parole in Place“ for many close relatives of active duty, reservists, and veterans in our nation's armed services. It seemed like a no-brainer to many since these brave men and women have served our countr
CA1 Finds BIA Applied “Stop-Time” Rule Correctly
The court denied the petition for review, finding that the BIA’s correct application of the “stop-time” rule from the date of entry to the service of the Notice to Appear (NTA) precludes cancellation of removal relief. (Soto v. Holder, 12/3/13)