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
AILA NY Chapter Testimony on Secure Communities
AILA New York Chapter testimony submitted to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement for the 11/30/11 hearing on Secure Communities.
AILA Southern California Chapter Testimony on Secure Communities
AILA Southern California Chapter testimony submitted to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement for the 11/30/11 hearing on Secure Communities.
AILA DC Chapter Testimony on Secure Communities
AILA DC Chapter testimony submitted to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement for the 11/30/11 hearing on Secure Communities.
AILA Testimony on Secure Communities Submitted to House Immigration Subcommittee
AILA testimony submitted to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement for the 11/30/11 hearing on Secure Communities.
CA3 Finds Pennsylvania Sexual Assault Is a Crime of Violence
The court held that sexual assault, in violation of 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. §3124.1, raises a substantial risk of the intentional use force and is therefore an aggravated felony crime of violence under 18 USC §16(b). (Aguilar v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 11/29/11)
CA7 Upholds Denial of Religion-Based MS-13 Claim
The court found insufficient evidence that MS-13 targeted Petitioner on account of his Christian beliefs, finding instead that the evidence supported the conclusion that the threats were based on his refusal to join the gang. (Bueso-Avila v. Holder, 11/29/11)
BIA Finds Respondent is Eligible for Cancellation Under 240A(b)
In an unpublished decision, the BIA held that the respondent’s five U.S.-citizen daughters would suffer from exceptional and extremely unusual hardship if he was removed to a small village in Mexico and his family of seven accompanied him. Courtesy of Jonathan Benson.
CA5 Finds No Jurisdiction to Review Termination of Asylum
The court found that termination of asylum under 8 CFR §208.24 does not “mark the consummation of a decision-making process” and is therefore, not a final agency action for purposes of APA jurisdiction. (Qureshi v. Holder, 11/28/11)
CA3 Remands Asylum Claim of Guatemalan Government Witness
Although the Guatemalan government was willing to protect Petitioner in exchange for her testimony in a murder trial, the fact that it relocated her to Mexico is an admission that it could not actually protect her. (Garcia v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 11/28/11)
AILA Amicus Brief Challenges Mandatory Detention Holding in Matter of Rojas
AILA amicus explains how the plain language of the mandatory custody statute, INA §236(c), has never mandated the detention of every noncitizen who has ever committed a crime and urges the court to disapprove the BIA’s decision in Matter of Rojas.
AILA Files Amicus Brief in Fleuti/101(a)(13)(C) SCOTUS Case
AILA urges the court to refrain from deciding the effect of INA §101(a)(13)(C) on Fleuti, but sets forth its position that the statute did not abrogate the rule that LPRs returning from “brief, casual, and innocent” departures are to be treated as if they never left.
White House Releases Immigration Action Update (11/22/11)
White House Immigration Action Update e-newsletter circulated on 11/22/11 covers prosecutorial discretion, the asylum clock, synopses from discussions with various groups on immigration, UPIL stakeholder engagement, and more.
ICE Extension of Information Collection: Electronic Bonds Online Access (Updated 11/22/11)
ICE notice of a 30-day extension of the comment period on the information collection for Electronic Bonds Online (eBonds) access. Comments are due 12/21/11. (76 FR 53930, 8/30/11) (76 FR 72210 11/22/11)
Baltimore EOIR Notice on Prosecutorial Discretion Pilot Project
Notice from Brenda L. Cook, Court Administrator, Baltimore EOIR, to non-detained individuals whose cases are to be rescheduled pursuant to the prosecutorial discretion pilot project.
District Court Certifies Class of Detainees with Mental Disabilities
The court certified a class action asserting the right to counsel for immigrant detainees with mental disabilities in California, Arizona, and Washington in a lawsuit filed last year by NWIRP, the ACLU, Sullivan & Cromwell, and others. (Franco v. Napolitano, 11/21/11)
EOIR Swears in Three New Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the investiture of three new immigration judges who will join the immigration judge corps in East Mesa, California; Lumpkin, Georgia; and Dallas, Texas.
USCIS Policy Memo on Material Support and the Provision of Medical Care
USCIS 11/20/11 policy memo on the implementation of a new exemption to apply the material support inadmissibility grounds to certain individuals who provide medical care to persons associated with terrorist activities or organizations.
USCIS Revises Hold Guidance for Cases Involving TRIG to Allow for Some Cases to be Denied
USCIS 11/20/11 policy memo revising existing hold guidance for terrorism-related inadmissibility grounds (TRIG) cases to allow for the denial of some cases currently on hold where a TRIG exemption would not be granted to the applicant even if an exemption were available.
CA9 Says CA Residential Burglary Is a Particularly Serious Crime
The court held that a conviction for residential burglary under Cal. Penal code §459 is a crime of violence under 18 USC §16(b) and is therefore a bar to withholding of removal as a particularly serious crime. (Lopez-Cardona v. Holder, 11/18/11)
BIA on Analyzing “Single Scheme” CIMTs
The BIA held that in determining whether an alien’s convictions for two or more CIMTs arose out of a single scheme, the Board’s analysis in Adetiba is controlling and should be uniformly applied in all circuits. Matter of Islam, 25 I&N Dec. 637 (BIA 2011)
CA5 on Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute
The court found that where a state criminal statute covers both the felony and misdemeanor conduct under 21 USC §841, it is presumed to be a felony unless the petitioner proves he was convicted of misdemeanor conduct. (Moncrieffe v. Holder, 11/8/11; Revised 11/17/11)
EOIR Statement Regarding Prosecutorial Discretion
EOIR press release regarding ICE's directive to ICE attorneys relating to the exercise of prosecutorial discretion for cases pending in the immigration courts and for cases where a charging document has not yet been filed in immigration court.
ICE Guidance on Next Steps in Implementing Prosecutorial Discretion
Additional prosecutorial discretion guidance released on 11/17/11, outlining the next steps in implementing the 6/17/11 John Morton memos and the 8/18/11 DHS announcement on immigration enforcement priorities.
Guidance to ICE Attorneys Reviewing Cases before EOIR
Companion guidance to the 11/17/11 Peter Vincent memorandum, outlining enforcement priorities for cases that should generally be pursued in an accelerated manner, as well as criteria for low-priority cases that should be carefully considered for prosecutorial discretion.
ICE Memo on Prosecutorial Discretion Case Review Process
An 11/17/11 memorandum from Peter S. Vincent, ICE Principal Legal Advisor on the review of incoming and pending immigration court cases to ensure that such cases conform to ICE’s civil enforcement priorities as described in the 6/17/11 John Morton memorandum.