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
DOJ OIL April 2012 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) April 2012 Litigation Bulletin where Eleventh Circuit held that asylum confidentiality provision was not violated by disclosure of name to hospital administrator and other issues related to adjustment of status and asylum decisions.
Immigration Law Advisor, April 2012 (Vol. 6, No. 4)
Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on circuit court modifications to the modified categorical approach, as well as circuit court decisions for March 2012, recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
CA6 Declines to Transfer Venue, Remands on Firm Resettlement Finding
The court rejected the government’s motion to transfer the asylum case to the Fourth Circuit, and remanded to the BIA to reevaluate the IJ’s firmly resettled finding. (Thiam v. Holder, 4/30/12)
ICE Statistics on Prosecutorial Discretion
ICE statistics on prosecutorial discretion (PD) provided to AILA, including the number of cases reviewed, number of cases identified for a grant of PD, number of cases granted deferred action and stays of removal, and more.
ICE FAQs on Facilitating the Return of Certain Removed Aliens
ICE Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about ICE Policy Directive Number 11061.1, Facilitating the Return to the United States of Certain Lawfully Removed Aliens, including information on points of contact, transportation documentation, what happens upon return, and more.
BIA Overturns Denial of Motion for Continuance
In an unpublished decision, the BIA overturned the IJ’s denial of a continuance to allow the respondent to pursue adjustment of status, finding that the denial rested on a clearly erroneous factual finding of previous marriage fraud. Courtesy of Nicolas Chavez.
AILA ICE Liaison Committee Meeting Minutes (4/26/12)
AILA ICE Liaison Committee minutes from the 4/26/12 liaison meeting with ICE, including information on facilitating the return of noncitizens who prevail on judicial review, OSUP, Form I-246, prosecutorial discretion, notario fraud victims and U visa applicants, and more.
Secretary Napolitano Senate Testimony on DHS Oversight
Written testimony of DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano for a 4/25/12 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled “The Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security” where she discussed border issues, E-Verify, visitor visas, unauthorized practice of law, and many other issues.
CA1 on Corroboration in Asylum Proceedings
Applying the law as it existed prior to the REAL ID Act, the court found that the BIA should have made an explicit finding on the adequacy of the asylum applicant’s explanation for failing to corroborate certain aspects of his claim. (Soeung v. Holder, 4/25/12)
DOJ “Clarifies and Corrects” Statements Made to the Supreme Court
Letter from Michael Dreeben, Deputy Solicitor General, to William Suter, Clerk of the Supreme Court, to “clarify and correct” statements made in Nken v. Holder. Includes DHS & DOS guidance on facilitating the return of noncitizens who prevail on judicial review.
DOS Cable: Parole of Removed Aliens
A 4/24/12 DOS cable outlining the procedures that apply when a noncitizen who was previously removed from the United States, but successfully prevails on judicial review, requests assistance in returning to the United States.
TRAC Report on Historic Drop in Deportation Orders
TRAC report on decrease in deportation orders for January-March 2012, resulting in immigration courts issuing 2,429 fewer deportation orders than in the previous quarter, even as immigration court backlogs increased.
CA9 Finds Misprision of Felony Not CIMT
The court found that misprision of a felony is not categorically a CIMT, and noted that the fact an offense violates “societal duties” is not enough to make it a CIMT; otherwise, every crime would be a CIMT. (Robles-Urrea v. Holder, 4/23/12)
CA2 Finds NY Second-Degree Assault Is an Aggravated Felony
The court found that NY second-degree assault is an aggravated felony, and that Padilla did not overturn precedent holding that the Ex Post Facto Clause is not applicable in the deportation context. (Morris v. Holder, 4/23/12)
TRAC Publishes Latest Data on Prosecutorial Discretion
TRAC report detailing data on ICE’s prosecutorial discretion initiative from the August 2011 announcement through March 28, 2012, including the total number of cases closed, results from the Baltimore and Denver pilot projects, and figures from other courts around the nation.
ICE Notice to Noncitizens with Final Orders Seeking Judicial Review
ICE notice to noncitizens who have received an administratively final order of removal from an immigration judge, the BIA, or DHS concerning the process for facilitating their return in the event of a favorable judicial ruling.
CA2 Finds CT Witness Tampering Is an Aggravated Felony
The court found that a Connecticut conviction for witness tampering constitutes an aggravated felony as an “offense relating to obstruction of justice,” and held that the petitioner was ineligible for relief. (Higgins v. Holder, 4/19/12)
District Court Orders Bond Hearing for LPR Detained Under INA § 235
The court held that the petitioner, an LPR detained for 26 months under INA § 235 after returning from a trip abroad because the government argued he was convicted of an aggravated felony years earlier, was entitled to a bond hearing. Courtesy of Raymond Lahoud. (Bautista v. Sabol, 5/24/12)
New Mexico District Court on Mandatory Detention Under 236(c)
In an unpublished decision, the District of New Mexico found that the mandatory detention provisions of INA § 236(c) did not apply because the petitioner was not detained immediately upon his release from criminal custody. Courtesy of Olsi Vrapi. (Valdez v. Terry, 4/18/12)
USCIS Memo on Implementation of Reasonable Fear Processing Timelines
USCIS memo dated 4/17/12 on implementing reasonable fear processing timelines and reporting mechanisms. The memo revises the 2003 “Draft Reasonable Fear Procedures Manual,” and updates the 2005 “User's Guide to Entering Information in the Asylum Pre-Screening System.”
CA11 Finds Petition for Review Untimely Where Court was “Accessible”
The court found that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the petition for review, which was received 31 days after the BIA issued its order, because the Clerk’s office was accessible on the day the petition was due. (Lin v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 4/17/12)
ICE Detainee Dies at Colorado Hospital
ICE press release on the death of a 46-year-old man from Gabon, who died in ICE custody at the Aurora Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado, after complaining of chest pains. He is the seventh detainee to die in ICE custody in FY2012.
CA3 Holds That INA § 101(a)(43)(M)(i) Requires Actual Loss
The court found that the petitioner’s conviction for knowingly making a false statement in a bankruptcy proceeding was not an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(M)(i), because his offense did not cause an actual loss. (Singh v. Att’y Gen., 4/16/12)
BIA Finds IJ Should Have Granted Continuance
In an unpublished decision, the BIA held that the immigration judge should have granted the respondent’s request for a continuance in order to pursue a waiver petition under INA § 216(c)(4), and remanded the case for further proceedings. Courtesy of Fausto Falzone.
BIA on Refugees in Removal Proceedings
The BIA held that a refugee who has not adjusted status can be placed in removal proceedings without a prior inadmissibility determination by DHS, but that the charges of removability must be under INA § 237, not § 212. Matter of D-K-, 25 I&N Dec. 761 (BIA 2012)