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
EOIR Alert Regarding Relocation of Newark Immigration Court
EOIR press release announcing that the Newark Immigration Court will close as of 3/22/12 to prepare for relocation. The Newark Immigration Court will reopen at the new location on 3/27/12.
AILA/CBP Liaison Muster Index (Updated 3/19/12)
AILA/CBP liaison offers an index of musters issued by CBP to the field. Topics include inspection procedures, secondary, detention conditions & policy, WHTI, US-VISIT, biometrics, TWIC, C-1/Ds, Ls, consular issues, APIS, LPRs, Global Entry, travel documents, and more.
BIA on Inadmissibility and 245(i) Adjustment of Status
In a case remanded from the Seventh Circuit, the Board found that an individual who is inadmissible under INA § 212(a)(9)(B)(i)(II) due to unlawful presence cannot qualify for 245(i) adjustment of status absent a waiver. Matter of Lemus, 25 I&N Dec. 734 (BIA 2012)
March Sadness
Originally posted on Huffington Post “Where's your Green Card! Where's your Green Card! Where's your Green Card!…“ That was the despicable taunt that met Kansas State point guard Angel Rodriguez during the first-round NCAA tournament game between Kansas State University and the Universit
CA1 Upholds Denial of Gang-Related Asylum Claim
The court upheld the denial of the Salvadoran petitioner’s asylum claim, which was based on the petitioner’s resistance to gang recruitment and his anti-gang political opinion. (Mayorga-Vidal v. Holder, 3/16/12)
CA1 Remands Asylum Case Due to Faulty Credibility Determination
The court remanded the asylum case, noting that the IJ did not present a reasoned analysis of the evidence as a whole, and finding that the IJ relied on at least two perceived “inconsistencies” that were not direct inconsistencies. (Jabri v. Holder, 3/16/12)
CA1 Seeks Clarification on Credibility and Corroboration Issues
The court found that the BIA failed to address two central issues in the Ethiopian asylum case and remanded to the BIA to clarify questions relating to credibility and corroborating evidence. (Guta-Tolossa v. Holder, 3/16/12)
CA8 on Corroboration and Transcript Deficiencies
The court found that the IJ did not err in requiring further corroborative evidence to support the asylum application, but remanded to determine whether transcript deficiencies masked testimony that corroborative testimony was unavailable. (Omondi v. Holder, 3/15/12)
CA7 on Jurisdiction to Review a Cancellation of Removal Decision
The court discussed when it has jurisdiction to review a ruling in a cancellation of removal case, ultimately finding it could not reverse the BIA’s weighing of hardships against considerations favoring removal of this petitioner. (Munoz-Pacheco v. Holder, 3/14/12)
CA1 Finds Petitioner Ineligible for NACARA Relief
The court found that the Guatemalan petitioner was statutorily ineligible for special rule cancellation under NACARA because he last entered the U.S. as a crewman. (Gonzalez v. Holder, 3/14/12)
Practice Alert: ICE Reviews BIA and Federal Court Cases for Grants of Prosecutorial Discretion
Information on ICE’s review of certain cases pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals and federal courts for grants of prosecutorial discretion.
USCIS FY2011 Highlights Report
USCIS report highlighting key successes from FY2011 including strengthening our immigrations system’s national security safeguards, combatting fraud, the Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPIL) initiative and many other departmental accomplishments.
ICE Opens First Designed-and-Built Civil Detention Center in Texas
ICE press release on the opening of the Karnes County Civil Detention Center, the first-ever ICE designed-and-built civil detention center which is a 608-bed civil immigration detention facility, designed to house adult male, low-risk, minimum security detainees in Texas.
CA1 Finds No Jurisdiction to Review Cancellation Denial
The court held that it did not have jurisdiction to review the denial of the Bangladeshi petitioner’s cancellation of removal application, and found that the decision to deny asylum and withholding was supported by substantial evidence. (Hasan v. Holder, 3/12/12)
CA9 on Derivative Citizenship and Legitimation in Arizona
The court found that petitioner’s paternity was established by legitimation under Arizona law, which provides that every child is the legitimate child of its natural parents, holding that legitimation does not require an affirmative act. (Anderson v. Holder, 3/12/12)
Musings on the Visa Waiver Program, No-Right Waivers and the Age of Youth
AILA Amicus Committee alert on Vera v. Attorney General, where a 12-year old entered through the Visa Waiver Program and was ordered removed after overstaying even though she was a minor when she signed the waiver.
BIA on the Divisibility of Criminal Statutes
The BIA held that a statute is divisible, regardless of its structure, if, based on the elements of the offense, some but not all violations of the statute give rise to grounds for removal or ineligibility for relief. Matter of Lanferman, 25 I&N Dec. 721 (BIA 2012)
BIA on Requirements for 245(i) Derivative Case
The BIA held that, for an individual to qualify for adjustment of status under §245(i) as a grandfathered derivative, the principal beneficiary must satisfy the requirements for grandfathering. Matter of Ilic, 25 I&N Dec. 717 (BIA 2012)
House Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing on ICE FY2013 Appropriations
Testimony from the 3/8/12 House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security’s ICE 2013 Budget Hearing.
ICE Director’s Congressional Testimony on ICE FY2013 Budget
Press release on full written testimony of ICE Director John Morton for a House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Homeland Security hearing on the President’s budget request for ICE for Fiscal Year 2013.
ICE Detainee Dies at Southern California Hospital
ICE press release on the death of a Mexican national in ICE custody at a Los Angeles-area hospital in Southern California where he had been undergoing treatment for pneumonia and who is now the sixth detainee to die in ICE custody in FY2012.
AILA Testimony on H.R. 3808 Submitted to House Immigration Subcommittee
AILA testimony submitted to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement for the 3/7/12 hearing on H.R. 3808-the Scott Gardner Act.
House Judiciary’s Immigration Subcommittee Hearing on H.R. 3808
Testimony from the 3/7/12 House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement Hearing on H.R. 3808, the Scott Gardner Act.
ICE Detention Policy for Individuals Granted Protection Relief
A 3/6/12 email from ICE ERO Executive Associate Director Gary Mead to ICE field offices, reminding them of ICE’s policy to favor the release of detained individuals who have been granted protection relief by an immigration judge, barring exceptional concerns.
DOJ OIL February 2012 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) February 2012 Litigation Bulletin with major asylum cases including First Circuit ruling that generalized political motive underlying a persecutor’s mistreatment does not establish persecution on account of political opinion.