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 Releases Year-End FY2011 Removal Numbers
ICE news release announcing that in FY2011, the agency removed 396,906 individuals. Of the total, nearly 55 percent of those removed were convicted of felonies or misdemeanors. According to the announcement, 90 percent of all ICE’s removals fell into a priority category.
AILA Files Amicus Brief in Domestic Violence/Social Group Asylum Case
AILA amicus brief arguing that domestic violence may be persecution perpetrated because of a woman's gender, an immutable characteristic that can define a particular social group. Amicus urges the Board to issue a decision recognizing a PSG defined based on gender per se.
AAO Sustains I-601 Appeal for Chinese Spouse of USC
AAO concluded that the cumulative effect of the emotional, psychological, medical, and financial hardships that the applicant’s USC husband would suffer without his wife in the U.S. rose to the level of extreme. Courtesy of Alan Lee.
CA10 on “Illegal Re-entry” for Purposes of Reinstatement of Removal
The court held that where Petitioner was waived through at the border one month after her removal from the U.S., she “re-enter[ed] the United States illegally” for purposes of reinstatement of removal under INA §241(a)(5). (Cordova-Soto v. Holder, 10/17/11)
Frontline Presents Lost in Detention on PBS
Frontline’s presentation of Lost in Detention, an investigative report that examines controversial aspects of the Obama administration’s enforcement policies, and explores the world of immigration detention, which aired on 10/18/11, on PBS.
BIA Remands Mali FGM Asylum Claim
The BIA found exceptional circumstances to permit respondent’s late-filed asylum application, reversed the IJ’s finding that DHS rebutted the well-founded fear presumption, and found that the IJ failed to follow Matter of A-T-. Courtesy of Geoffrey A. Hoffman.
BIA Deems NY Third-Degree Attempted Arson an Aggravated Felony
The BIA held that third degree attempted arson in violation of NY Pen. Law §§110 and 150.10 is an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(E)(i), even though it lacks the jurisdictional element in the federal offense. Matter of Bautista, 25 I&N Dec. 616 (BIA 2011)
District Court Says USCIS Must Act on FOIA Requests in 20 Days, Absent Unusual Circumstances
The court granted partial summary judgment, ordering USCIS to respond to A file requests in 20 days absent unusual circumstances, and that Track 3 violates a 1992 settlement agreement and was promulgated in violation of the APA and FOIA. (Hajro v. USCIS, 10/13/11)
CA8 Finds BIA Disregarded St. Cyr, Directs AG to Exercise §212(c) Discretion
The court held that the BIA erred in declaring it was free to apply the statutory counterpart rule as it evolved post-212(c) repeal, rather than analyzing retroactive effect in light of the legal landscape at the time of 212(c)’s repeal. (Lovan v. Holder, 10/13/11)
BIA Remands After Finding Respondent May Be Eligible to Pursue Adjustment of Status
The BIA vacated earlier decisions and remanded after finding that if the respondent is able to establish that the abuser is the citizen who petitioned for his K-1 visa, he may be eligible to pursue adjustment of status. Courtesy of Barry Frager. (Matter of Redacted, 10/12/11)
CA11 Rejects Silva-Trevino Analysis for Determining CIMTs
The court held that the BIA and the IJ erred in considering evidence beyond the record of conviction to determine that Petitioner’s conviction for false imprisonment under Florida law was a crime involving moral turpitude. (Fajardo v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 10/12/11)
ICE Announces the Passing of a Detained El Salvadoran National
ICE news release announcing that Mauro Antonio Rivera-Romero, an El Salvadoran man who was being held at the El Paso Processing Center pending removal proceedings, passed away after going into cardiac arrest. He is the second individual to pass away in ICE custody in FY2012.
CA9 on Impact of Weekends and Holidays on Voluntary Departure (Updated 1/23/2012)
The court held that where voluntary departure expires on a weekend or holiday, and a motion that would affect voluntary departure is filed the next business day, voluntary departure expires on the next business day. (Meza-Vallejos v. Holder, 10/11/11; amended 1/20/12)
AILA/AIC Prosecutorial Discretion Survey: Preliminary Results
Preliminary results, as of 9/28/11, of the AILA/AIC survey on ICE implementation of the recently announced prosecutorial discretion initiatives. As of the date of the report, 192 people completed the survey, providing information on 26 out of 28 ICE field offices.
CA8 Finds No Due Diligence or Prejudice in Ineffective Assistance Claim
The court upheld the denial of Petitioner’s MTR for adjustment where she filed the motion 3 years after discovering counsel’s ineffectiveness, and noted that there was no prejudice because she was not previously eligible for adjustment. (Valencia v. Holder, 10/7/11)
DHS Fact Sheet on Smart, Effective Border Security and Immigration Enforcement
DHS fact sheet on efforts to focus the Department’s limited resources on protecting the nation’s borders and implementing an effective immigration enforcement strategy, which includes prioritizing the identification and removal of public safety and national security threats.
CA8 Upholds Denial of Nigerian Christian Asylum Claim
The court found that Petitioner suffered little physical harm at the hands of Muslim gangs, that his family continued to practice their religion without incident, and that there was no evidence that the government condoned the harassment. (Osuji v. Holder, 10/5/11)
CA6 Elaborates on Jurisdiction to Review Hardship for Cancellation of Removal
Though noting the sympathetic nature of the case, the court found no jurisdiction to review Petitioner’s claim that the IJ failed to consider hardship facts for cancellation of removal and dismissed the petition for review. (Ettienne v. Holder, 10/5/11)
El Salvadoran Man in ICE Custody Passes Away at UVA Medical Center
ICE press release announcing that an El Salvadoran national who was in custody at the Farmville Detention Center while going through removal proceedings passed away as an apparent result of liver failure. This is the first individual to pass away in ICE custody in FY 2012.
House Homeland Security Committee Hearing on Prosecutorial Discretion
Testimony from the 10/4/11 House Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security on entitled "Does Administrative Amnesty Harm our Efforts to Gain and Maintain Operational Control of the Border?"
CA3 Says Rescission Bar Does Not Apply to LPR Status Obtained Through Consulate
The court held that the five-year statute of limitations on rescission of LPR status under INA §246(a) does not apply where Petitioner obtained status through consular processing, not adjustment of status. (Malik v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 10/4/11; amended 10/7/11)
DOJ OIL September 2011 Litigation Bulletin
DOJ Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) September 2011 Litigation Bulletin addresses the Supreme Court’s review of whether “admission” applies retroactively, CSPA and derivative beneficiaries, summaries of recent federal court decisions, issue updates, and more.
Immigration Law Advisor, September 2011 (Vol. 5, No. 8)
Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on imputation and retroactivity at the Supreme Court, circuit court decisions for August 2011, recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
CBP Muster on Operation No Refuge
An undated CBP muster informing CBP officers of Operation No Refuge, which involves identifying subjects who may be involved in or are the beneficiaries of illicit narcotics activities, and how to handle related cases. Muster obtained through FOIA 2011F03343 filed by AILA.
CRS Report on Immigration Issues and Legislation in the 112th Congress
A 9/30/11 Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on immigration-related issues that have received legislative action or are of significant interest in the 112th Congress, including border security, E-Verify, detention, diversity visas, and immigrant investors.