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 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)
AILA Files Amicus Brief in En Banc Rehearing of Garfias-Rodriguez
AILA amicus brief in Garfias-Rodriguez v. Holder, arguing that noncitizens who are inadmissible under INA §212(a)(9)(C)(i)(I) may seek adjustment of status under INA §245(i). AILA previously filed an amicus brief in support of the rehearing en banc.
DOJ Open Government Plan 2012’ Report
DOJ report on setting forth ongoing and anticipated efforts to increase openness including sections on FOIA, EOIR and outreach to minority and immigrant workers communities around the country.
New Jersey District Court on Mandatory Detention Under 236(c)
In an unpublished decision, the District of New Jersey granted the habeas petition and found that mandatory detention under INA § 236(c) does not apply where the noncitizen was taken into custody over 12 years after the statutory offense. Courtesy of Michael Z. Goldman. (X v. Elwood, 4/9/12)
BIA Finds Murder with No Intent to Kill is Aggravated Felony
The BIA held that a conviction for murder requiring a showing that the perpetrator acted with extreme recklessness or a malignant heart is an aggravated felony, notwithstanding that no intent to kill was established. Matter of M-W-, 25 I&N Dec. 748 (BIA 2012)
DHS OIG Report on the Effectiveness of Secure Communities
DHS OIG report assessing whether Secure Communities was effective in identifying noncitizens with criminal convictions, and whether ICE appropriately prioritized cases for removal action.
ICE Responds to Secure Communities Task Force Recommendations
ICE’s 4/27/12 response to a September 2011 Homeland Security Advisory Council’s Task Force on Secure Communities report, which recommended ways for ICE to improve the Secure Communities program.
Passover In The First Person
A version of this blog was originally posted on April 19, 2011 and on the Huffington Post This week Jews all over the world celebrate Passover. Extended families, friends and strangers gather together and relive the story of the Exodus from the bondage of the Pharaohs of Egypt. It is a holiday of fr
EOIR Provides Cost Saving Analysis on the Legal Orientation Program
EOIR provided a cost-saving analysis report on the Legal Orientation Program (LOP) from FY2009 through FY2011, finding that detained individuals’ participation in the LOP significantly reduced the length of their immigration court proceedings.
CA11 on Right to Confidentiality in Asylum Proceedings
The court affirmed the adverse credibility finding, and found the investigator’s disclosure of the petitioner’s name to a Ukrainian hospital administrator did not breach her right to confidentiality in the asylum process. (Lyashchynska v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 4/4/12)
AILA Comments on EOIR’s Recognition and Accreditation Program
AILA’s comments on the regulations governing the EOIR Recognition and Accreditation Program, encouraging EOIR to adopt additional safeguards to help strengthen the program and combat program-related fraud.
ICE Report on Deportation of Parents of U.S.-Born Citizens During FY2011
ICE semi-annual report on detailed evaluation of the process and required changes to begin tracking the deportation of people with U.S.-born children for the first half of FY2011.
CRCL Newsletter, April 2012
DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) January 2012 newsletter with information on LGBT equality, national detention standards and the new DHS Language Access Plan.
BIA Sua Sponte Reopens Proceedings Based on Inaccurate Admission
In an unpublished decision, the BIA sua sponte reopened proceedings based on exceptional circumstances, because the respondent admitted to two controlled substance convictions which did not exist during a hearing with his prior attorney. Courtesy of Charles Medina.
Additional Court Dockets Suspended for Prosecutorial Discretion Review
News release announcing that EOIR will suspend or partially suspend the non-detained docket in seven additional cities beginning in late April, in order to facilitate DHS’s review of pending removal cases for grants of prosecutorial discretion.
CA9 on Standard of Review for Particularly Serious Crime Determination
The court held that determining whether a crime is particularly serious for the purposes of a withholding claim is an inherently discretionary decision, and that they will review such decisions for abuse of discretion. (Arbid v. Holder, 4/3/12, amended 11/9/12)
IJ Grants Asylum to Salvadoran Youth Targeted for Gang Reprisal
The Immigration Judge found that the applicant had a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of his family ties, where the applicant’s father had been convicted of raping the sister of a gang member and the gang sought revenge. Courtesy of Nikki Mehrpoo Jacobson.
EOIR Swears in New Assistant Chief Immigration Judge
EOIR press release announcing that Attorney General Eric Holder appointed Christopher A. Santoro as a new assistant chief immigration judge during a swearing-in ceremony on 3/30/12.
Sign-On Letter to the White House Urging for PREA to Cover Immigration Detention Facilities
On 4/2/12, AILA joined immigration, labor, faith-based, community, and victim advocacy organizations in a sign-on letter to the White House urging for the implementation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA) in immigration detention facilities.
Immigration Law Advisor, March 2012 (Vol. 6, No. 3)
Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on the current framework for establishing the fact of conviction in light of Matter of J.R. Velasquez, as well as circuit court decisions for February 2012, and recent BIA precedent decisions.
CA1 Finds No Changed Country Conditions in Chinese Asylum Case
The court affirmed the BIA’s conclusion that reopening of the Chinese petitioner’s asylum case was unwarranted due to his failure to establish a change in circumstances or country conditions. (Chen v. Holder, 3/30/12)
BIA Remands Egyptian Asylum Case
In an unpublished decision, the Board reversed a decision denying asylum, noting that a persecutor “may have several reasons for harming a victim and proving the exact reason for the past or feared persecution may be impossible in some cases." Courtesy of David Cleveland.
CA4 on 212(h) Waiver Eligibility
The court found that an individual who adjusts to LPR status after entering the U.S. can seek a 212(h) waiver, reversing the BIA’s finding that a post-entry adjustment of status constituted an “admission” to the U.S. (Bracamontes v. Holder, 3/29/12).
AILA's New Members Division Newsletter, March 2012 (Vol. 4, Issue 3)
In this issue, learn how prosecutorial discretion and the DREAM Act worked in one client’s favor, tips on processing E-2 visas and filing waivers for beginners, how AILA resources can bolster your research, and much more!