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
USCIS Transfers Workload from California Service Center to Texas Service Center
USCIS press release announcing that on 3/8/13, USCIS transferred some casework from California Service Center to Texas Service Center to balance overall workload with processing capacity at the centers related to DACA and Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization.
CA11 Criticizes Adverse Credibility Determination in Asylum Case
The court remanded the asylum case, finding that the IJ’s “bald assertion” that the petitioner’s story is implausible could not support the adverse credibility determination and that the IJ relied too heavily on the Country Profile. (Wu v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 3/12/13)
CA7 Holds Fraudulent Use of Social Security Card is CIMT
The court held that the petitioner was not eligible for cancellation of removal because his prior conviction for using a Social Security card to obtain and maintain employment was a crime involving moral turpitude. (Marin-Rodriguez v. Holder,, 3/6/13)
CA8 Denies Peruvian Asylum Claim Based on Political Opinion
The court upheld the BIA’s conclusion that the petitioner failed to show that Peruvian authorities were unable or unwilling to protect him from his persecutors. (Gutierrez-Vidal v. Holder, 3/11/13)
BIA Holds Unlawful Animal Fighting Conviction is CIMT
The Board held that the respondent is not eligible for cancellation because his conviction for sponsoring or exhibiting an animal in an animal fighting venture is categorically a crime involving moral turpitude. Matter of Ortega-Lopez, 26 I&N Dec. 99 (BIA 2013)
CA9 Holds CA Conviction for Misdemeanor Sexual Battery is CIMT
The court held that there was no realistic probability that California would apply CA Penal Code §243.4(e), misdemeanor sexual battery, to conduct that is not morally turpitudinous. (Gonzalez-Cervantes v. Holder, 3/8/13)
CA9 Holds Government Needs Reasonable Suspicion to Search Laptop at Border
The en banc court held that the forensic examination of the criminal defendant’s computer required a showing of reasonable suspicion under the Fourth Amendment. (United States v. Cotterman, 3/8/13)
EOIR Announces New Senior Executive Service Member
EOIR press release announcing that effective March 10, 2013, Deputy Chief Immigration Judge (DCIJ) Michael C. McGoings will become a member of the Senior Executive Service, continuing to directly supervise the assistant chief immigration judges and the 58 field courts.
EOIR Announces New Second Deputy Chief Immigration Judge
EOIR press release announcing the appointment of Assistant Chief Immigration Judge (ACIJ) Edward F. Kelly as a second deputy chief immigration judge (DCIJ), effective March 10, 2013.
CRS Report on Chart Book of Key Trends in U.S. Immigration Policy
Congressional Research Service (CRS) report from 3/7/13 called “U.S. Immigration Policy: Chart Book of Key Trends” highlighting selected immigration trends that touch on the main elements of comprehensive immigration reform.
Stateside Waivers: Some Families Still Left Out in the Cold
This week, USCIS launched the new I-601A provisional waiver program, allowing certain relatives of American citizens who are in the country illegally to get a decision on their waiver case, before leaving the United States. The exact numbers are not known, but it is clear that the new rules will imp
EOIR Memo on Continuances and Administrative Closure
A 3/7/13 memo (OPPM 13-01) from Brian M. O’Leary, Chief Immigration Judge, providing additional background and guidance on continuances and administrative closures. This memo replaces OPPM 94-6.
Alabama Department of Public Safety Memo on Drivers Licenses
A 03/06/13 Memorandum from Major Terry Chapman of Alabama Department of Public Safety to Driver License Examiners through the chain of command allowing DACA recipients to apply and test for a driver license or ID card in Alabama.
Diaz & Lopez, Briones, Acosta
AILA Amicus Committee alert on Matter of Diaz and Lopez, and Briones and Acosta, and the correct statement of Brand X law.
Immigration Court and EOIR Office Closings for March 5, 2013
EOIR public statement announcing that the Bloomington, Minnesota immigration court will be closed on Tuesday, March 5, 2013 due to inclement weather conditions.
USCIS FOIA Response For Documents Related to DACA
USCIS FOIA response for request of documents related to deferred action since 6/17/11 and Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) since 8/15/12. Documents received include 9/13/12 Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for DACA. Special thanks to Shoba Sivaprased Wadhia.
H.R. 435 - Military Enlistment Opportunity Act
H.R. 435 - Military Enlistment Opportunity Act, introduced by Rep. Coffman (R-CO), broadens the pool of those eligible to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces beyond citizens and lawful permanent residents, and those eligible under the narrow MAVNI provisions.
EOIR Swears in Two New Immigration Judges
EOIR press release announcing the swearing-in of Craig A. Harlow and Sunita B. Mahtabfar as immigration judges at the Pearsall, TX Immigration Court and El Paso Service Processing Center, respectively.
CA7 Finds No Jurisdiction to Review Denial of Continuance
The court held that the jurisdictional bar in §242(a)(2)(C), which prohibits the court from reviewing a removal order if the noncitizen committed certain criminal offenses, precluded them from reviewing the denial of a continuance. (Moral-Salazar v. Holder, 2/28/13)
DOJ OIL March 2013 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for March 2013 with articles on an I-212 waiver class action and the fugitive disentitlement doctrine, as well as litigation highlights, summaries of recent circuit court decisions, and monthly topical parentheticals.
Immigration Quicktake: Sequestration
In response to the sequestration, DHS is already taking steps to reduce spending. Several hundred lower-priority immigration detainees were released over the past few days. Joining us through Skype is Maurice Goldman, Media Advo Committee member, to discuss the issue.
CA8 on “Particular Social Group” Requirement
The court denied the asylum claim, holding that “family members of local business owners” is not a particular social group and that the petitioner did not prove that he was targeted for gang recruitment because of his father's business. (Quinteros v. Holder, 3/1/13)
VOICE: March/April 2013
The latest issue of VOICE brings you insight into the gay marriage and DOMA cases facing the Supreme Court, how to take your law firm mobile, advice on wage leveling violations, and much more!
Presidential Pardon Granted to Chinese Citizen For Defrauding Legacy INS in 1996
Copy of official presidential pardon from 3/1/13 for An Na Peng, a Chinese national who was convicted of conspiracy to defraud legacy INS. Ms. Peng’s attorney, Maile Hirota, provided this copy of the official pardon certificate.
Immigration Law Advisor, February 2013 (Vol. 7, No. 2)
Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on the unlawful presence bars including sources of guidance for adjudicators and suggestions for analyzing cases involving the bars, as well as circuit court decisions and precedent BIA decisions for January 2013.