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
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.
AILA Applauds ICE for Progress on Immigration Case Review
AILA welcomes new guidance issued in a memo from ICE that outlines the process for reviewing pending and incoming immigration cases for their eligibility to apply prosecutorial discretion.
AILA/ICE Liaison Meeting Minutes (11/17/11)
AILA ICE Liaison Committee report from an 11/17/11 liaison meeting with ICE. Questions and answers address Matter of E-R-M-F-, Secure Communities, prosecutorial discretion, DUI and release determinations, stays of removal, post-order procedures, and more.
AILA/ICE Fall 2011 Liaison Meeting Minutes
AILA ICE Liaison Committee minutes from the fall 2011 liaison meetings with ICE. Questions and answers address Matter of E-R-M-F-, Secure Communities, prosecutorial discretion, DUI and release determinations, stays of removal, post-order procedures, and more.
AILA Letter to House Judiciary Committee on H.R. 3256
A 11/17/11 AILA letter to House Judiciary Committee expressing concern over H.R. 3256- Deport Convicted Foreign Criminals Act of 2011, which would damage the U.S. visa processing system and jeopardize U.S. businesses and communities.
EOIR Announces Appointment of Ana Landazabal Mann to BIA
EOIR press release announcing the appointment of Ana Landazabal Mann to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).
CA3 Finds IJ Failed to Act as Neutral Arbiter; Reverses Adverse Credibility
The court found that Petitioner’s due process rights were violated when government counsel was unprepared at the merits hearing and the IJ took over cross-examination and ceased functioning as a neutral arbiter. (Abulashvili v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 11/15/11)
EOIR Policy Memo on the Asylum Clock
An 11/15/11 memo from Brian M. O’Leary, Chief Immigration Judge, addressing asylum clock procedures, including stopping and starting the clock, adjournment codes, staff responsibilities, future hearing dates, treatment of cases on appeal or remand, and more.
DOJ Comment Request on Form EOIR-26
DOJ notice of a 60-day comment period on Form EOIR-26, Notice of Appeal from a Decision of an Immigration Judge. Comments due 1/17/12. (76 FR 70754, 11/15/11)
DOJ Comment Request on Forms EOIR 42A and 42B
DOJ notice of a 60-day comment period on Application for Cancellation of Removal for Certain Permanent Residents (42A) and Application for Cancellation of Removal and Adjustment of Status for Certain Nonpermanent Residents (42B). Comments due 1/17/12. (76 FR 70754, 11/15/11)
Additional Resources on AILA/AIC Report on Prosecutorial Discretion
Summary and additional resources on AILA/AIC report, Holding DHS Accountable on Prosecutorial Discretion, highlighting nationwide discrepancies in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion by DHS.
Prosecutorial Discretion – It isn’t that hard
Written by: Palma Yanni, AILA Media-Advocacy Committee On November 10, 2011, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council (AIC) issued a report chronicling the implementation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton's June 17, 2011
CA7 Says No §212(h) Waiver for Conspiracy to Submit False Immigration Documents
The court held that because a conviction for conspiracy to submit false immigration documents, 18 USC §1546, is grounds for removal under INA §237(a)(3), and not INA §237(a)(1), Petitioner is ineligible for a §237(a)(1)(H) waiver. (Gourche v. Holder, 11/9/11)
AILA/AIC Survey Findings on the Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion
AILA and AIC released a report titled Holding DHS Accountable on Prosecutorial Discretion. AILA members responded to the joint survey with accounts of their interactions with ICE Field Offices and Offices of Chief Counsel regarding the use of prosecutorial discretion.
AILA CBP Liaison Q&As (11/9/11)
Approved AILA CBP Liaison Q&As discuss FOIA, TNs, adjudications, parole, K EADs, IVs, I-797s, Bs, I-192s, voluntary return, refugee/asylee, prioritization, and more. AILA Liaison seeks clarification from CBP on agenda items with ambiguous, missing, or incomplete answers.
BIA Says Rhode Island Solicitation of Assault Is an Aggravated Felony
The BIA held that solicitation of assault with a dangerous weapon, RI Gen. Laws §11-1-9, is an aggravated felony crime of violence, but is not an aggravated felony attempt or conspiracy offense under INA §101(a)(43)(U). Matter of Guerrero, 25 I&N Dec. 631 (BIA 2011)
AILA/AIC Survey Reveals ICE Officials’ Sporadic Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion
A joint report released on 11/9/11 by AILA and AIC, "Holding DHS Accountable on Prosecutorial Discretion," highlights the discrepancies seen by immigration attorneys at all 28 ICE offices nationwide in regards to the exercise of prosecutorial discretion.
CA6 Stays Appeal Upon Discovery of Translation Error
The court found that a translation error in a medical document corroborating Petitioner’s injuries contributed significantly to the IJ’s adverse credibility finding, and stayed the appeal so that Petitioner could present the error to the BIA. (Sea v. Holder, 11/8/11)
CA3 Rejects “Social Visibility” and “Particularity” Concepts in Asylum
The court found that the addition of social visibility and particularity to the BIA’s social group definition is inconsistent with prior decisions and rejected it without a reason for adopting the requirements. (Valdiviezo-Galdamez v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 11/8/11)
AILA Calls USCIS NTA Guidance a Positive Step
AILA commends the new Policy Memorandum issued by USCIS on NTAs involving inadmissible and removable aliens and for its movement away from enforcement actions and back towards its original service-minded focus.
USCIS Performance Data Statistics on Various Form Types
USCIS performance data providing the total number of receipts and approvals, by quarter, for various applications and petition form types submitted to USCIS for adjudication for FY2011.
CA9 Refuses to Place Time Limitation on GMC for Registry
Though the registry statute, INA §249, does not specify a time period for good moral character, the court found that the IJ’s determination based on conduct stretching many years and leading up to the hearing was permissible. (Gutierrez v. Holder, 11/7/11)
CA7 Confirms Lack of Jurisdiction to Review GMC Determination
The court found that although good moral character is a statutory requirement for cancellation of removal, the decision whether an alien has such character involves the exercise of administrative discretion. (Portillo-Rendon v. Holder, 11/7/11)
USCIS Revises Guidance on the Referral of Cases and Issuance of NTAs in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Removable Individuals
USCIS 11/7/11 policy memo establishing new guidelines regarding the circumstances under which USCIS will issue an NTA, or refer a case to ICE for NTA issuance, in order to effectively handle cases involving public safety threats, criminals, and individuals engaged in fraud.
DHS Publishes Enforcement Integrated Database PIA Update
DHS Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) update for EID, addressing changes to the information electronically shared with Mexico for Mexican nationals who are being repatriated from the U.S. and who have been convicted of certain felonies, including date of birth rather than age.