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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
ICE Detainee Dies at Texas Hospital
ICE press release on death of 51-year-old Czech national who died at Haskell Memorial Hospital in Texas due to heart failure, based on a preliminary determination.
CA4 on "Willful Blindness" Standard in CAT Relief Case
The court held that the BIA used the correct standard when considering whether the government officials would acquiesce to his torture, and that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s decision to deny CAT protection. (Suarez-Valenzuela v. Holder, 4/24/13)
AAO Grants 212(h) Waiver, Finds Applicant Demonstrated Rehabilitation
In an unpublished decision, the AAO granted the 212(h) waiver, finding that, although the applicant had a criminal record in addition to his controlled substance crime, his last criminal conviction took place over 15 years ago. Courtesy of Jeffrey Devore.
EOIR Notice on Adjudication of DHS Practitioner Disciplinary Cases
EOIR final rule removing unnecessary provisions in its regulations that are the responsibility of DHS pertaining to practitioner disciplinary cases. (78 FR 24669, 4/26/13)
CA9 on Standard of Review in Citizenship Cases
The court held it is not required to do a de novo review in citizenship cases, and that the district court’s finding that the petitioner is not a U.S. citizen is not clearly erroneous under a “clear and convincing” standard of proof. (Mondaca-Vega v. Holder, 4/25/13)
CA2 Holds District Court Did Not Have Jurisdiction to Review 212(i) Waiver
The court upheld the district court’s determination that it did not have jurisdiction to review the decision of USCIS to deny the petitioner’s 212(i) waiver. (Shabaj v. Holder, 4/25/13)
BIA Reverses IJ, Grants Cancellation of Removal
In this unpublished decision, the Board found that the IJ did not properly consider evidence of the country conditions in Honduras, including the effects of Hurricane Mitch and the testimony of an expert witness. Courtesy of Thomas Fulghum.