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 Child Cannot Rely on Parent’s Status and Residence to Establish Cancellation Eligibility
The Board held that a parent’s LPR status and residence in the U.S. cannot be imputed to an unemancipated minor for purposes of establishing the child’s eligibility for cancellation of removal. Matter of Montoya-Silva, 26 I&N Dec. 123 (BIA 2013)
CA8 Denies Withholding of Removal to Evangelical Christians from Mexico
The court held that the petitioners did not show that the conditions in their town rose to the level of persecution, and that they could relocate to a different part of Mexico to avoid persecution as Evangelical Christians. (Alavez-Hernandez v. Holder, 5/8/13)
Senators Advance Both Good and Bad Amendments on Bipartisan Bill
AILA released a press statement regarding the hundreds of amendments to S. 744 filed yesterday by Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
CA7 Holds BIA Did Not Meaningfully Address Evidence in Asylum Case
The court held that the BIA failed to meaningfully to address documents bolstering the petitioner’s assertion that conditions in China have changed for the worse, and remanded the case to the BIA. (Ni v. Holder, 4/26/13)
ICE Detainee Dies at Arizona Detention Facility
ICE press release on death of 40-year-old Guatemalan man of an apparent suicide at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. He is the fifth detainee to die in ICE custody in FY2013.
Asylum Division Officer Training Course One-Year Filing Deadline Lesson Plan
USCIS provided the ADOTC lesson plan on one-year filing deadline. This lesson describes the statutory bar to applying for asylum more than one year after an alien's date of last arrival.
EOIR Swears in Five New Immigration Judges
EOIR press release announcing swearing-in of Timothy Everett (Los Angeles Immigration Court), J. Traci Hong (Los Angeles Immigration Court), Amy Lee (Los Angeles Immigration Court), Elizabeth McGrail (Los Angeles Immigration Court) and John Odell (Tacoma Immigration Court).
BIA Remands Moldova Asylum Applicant for Entry of New Decision
Unpublished BIA decision remanding record as IJ didn’t adequately addressed respondent’s corroborative evidence in his conclusion that respondent did not establish past persecution and that the new entry must be based on applicable 9th Circuit and BIA precedents. Special thanks to Michael Alexei.
TRAC Report on Removal Orders Granted by IJs
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) report on removal orders granted by Immigration Judges. Chart is updated with new data as it is available.
CA9 Finds Asylum Applicant’s Proposed Social Group Lacks Sufficient Particularity
The court held that the petitioner’s proposed social group - which he described as disabled persons, insulin-dependent diabetics, or insulin dependent diabetics who suffer from mental illness - lacked sufficient particularity. (Mendoza-Alvarez v. Holder, 5/3/13)
CA9 to Rehear Case on Credibility Determinations En Banc
The court ordered that Oshodi v. Holder, which discussed credibility determinations under the REAL ID Act, be reheard en banc. (Oshodi v. Holder, 5/3/12)
CA2 on Eligibility for Special Rule Cancellation of Removal
The court held that, as an unadmitted alien, the petitioner cannot be ineligible for NACARA relief because of a conviction that would make him deportable under INA §237, and that the BIA’s interpretation is inconsistent with the regulation. (Reyes v. Holder, 5/3/13)
CA5 on the Definition of Lawful Status
The court upheld the BIA’s conclusion that the petitioners were not in lawful status after their L-1A and L-2 visas expired, despite having an adjustment of status application pending, because adjustment of status was ultimately denied. (Dhuka v. Holder, 5/3/13)
BIA on the Effect of Dual Nationality on an Asylum Claim
The Board held that an individual who is a citizen or national of more than one country, but has no fear of persecution in one of the those countries, does not qualify as a refugee under INA §101(a)(42). Matter of B-R-, 26 I&N Dec. 119 (BIA 2013)
Practice Alert: DACA Interviews at Local USCIS Field Offices
The AILA USCIS Field Operations liaison committee informs members that some DACA cases are being transferred to local field offices, and of those cases, some are being randomly selected for interviews.
AILA ICE Liaison Committee Meeting Q&As (5/02/13)
AILA ICE Liaison Committee questions and answers from the 5/02/13 liaison meeting with ICE, including information on prosecutorial discretion, deferred action, I-94s and adjustment of status, U visas, the RCA, right to counsel, withholding of removal, FOIA, and ATDs.
EOIR Issues Memo on Unrepresented Detained Undocumented Immigrants with Competency Issues
Obtained via FOIA by Hoppock Law Firm, EOIR released a memo with guidance for unrepresented detained undocumented immigrants with competency issues. Special thanks to Matthew Hoppock.
VOICE: May/June 2013
The latest issue of VOICE offers insight on applying for asylum on behalf of atheists, hiring competent employees, preparing adjudicator-friendly applications, and more! Also, complete our crossword puzzle correctly and save 20% on the Immigration Forms Toolbox!
Immigration Law Advisor, April 2013 (Vol. 7, No. 4)
Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on Vartelas v. Holder, and the revival of the Fleuti doctrine, circuit court decisions for March 2013, recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
ICE Detainee Dies at Arizona Detention Facility
ICE press release on death of 24-year-old woman of an apparent suicide at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. She is the fourth detainee to die in ICE custody in FY2013.
DOJ OIL May 2013 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for May 2013, with articles on German enforcement of general school-attendance laws and asylum eligibility and the Adverse Credibility project, as well as litigation highlights, recent circuit court decisions, and monthly topical parentheticals.
AAO Sustains Appeal and Waives Inadmissibility under Section 212(h)(1)(A)
AAO sustained the appeal of the waiver application and found that while the crimes of theft and attempted theft were serious in nature and cannot be condoned, the favorable factors in the case outweigh the adverse factors. Courtesy of Steven Heller.
CA10 Remands Nepali Asylum Case, Finds BIA Failed to Properly Consider Evidence
The court remanded the CAT and asylum claims back to the BIA, holding that the BIA failed to consider supporting evidence and that the record compelled the conclusion that the petitioner suffered past persecution by Maoists in Nepal. (Karki v. Holder, 4/30/13)
CA2 on False Claims to U.S. Citizenship
The court remanded the case the BIA to determine in the first instance whether an individual is inadmissible under §212(a)(6)(C)(ii)(I) if he or she makes a false claim to USC in order to avoid being placed in removal proceedings. (Richmond v. Holder, 4/30/13)
BIA Remands Denial of §237(a)(1)(H) Waiver
In an unpublished decision, the BIA reversed the IJ and remanded the case, holding that the consular officer could not have known or had a reason to believe that the respondent was an illicit trafficker at the time the respondent was admitted to the U.S. Courtesy of Sheri Benchetrit.