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
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.
CA2 Says NY Third-Degree Promoting Prostitution Is Not an Aggravated Felony
The court held that a violation of NY Penal Law §§20.00 and 230.25, for promoting prostitution in the third degree, is not an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(K)(i). (Prus v. Holder, 9/28/11)
Third Circuit Reflects on Unlawful Presence, Chevron, and the Importance of Prosecutorial Discretion
AILA Amicus Committee alert on Cheruku v. Attorney General, which held that the ten-year bar precludes adjustment of status under INA §245(i). The alert focuses on the human consequences of the decision and the potential use of prosecutorial discretion in similar cases.
ICE Apprehends More than 2,900 Convicted Criminals in National Cross Check Operation
ICE press release announcing that 2,901 individuals with prior criminal convictions were taken into custody during a seven-day targeted enforcement, or Cross Check, operation which was carried out across all 50 states and four U.S. territories.
Supreme Court Grants Cert in Three Immigration Cases
On 9/27/11 the Supreme Court granted certiorari in three immigration cases. Two cases involve the imputation of residence and LPR status to minors for cancellation purposes. The third case involves the retroactivity of INA §101(a)(13)(C)(v) as applied to returning residents.
Letter from Representatives Urging Consideration of LGBT Family Ties in Discretion Decisions
A 9/27/11 letter from 69 members of Congress to DHS Secretary Napolitano and Attorney General Holder requesting that LBGT family ties be considered in determining cases that merit relief from deportation.
Senators Ask President Obama to Rescind Prosecutorial Discretion Initiatives
A 9/26/11 letter from 19 Senators asking President Obama to rescind the recent directives on prosecutorial discretion, dismantle the working group tasked with reviewing removal cases, and make DHS Secretary Napolitano available for questioning on DHS enforcement policies.
CA9 on Authentication of Foreign Documents
The court found that the IJ erred by refusing to allow Petitioner to authenticate foreign documents through his own testimony, and concluded that he was statutorily eligible for adjustment of status as the unmarried son of a U.S. citizen. (Jiang v. Holder, 9/26/11)
CA9 Finds ELF Is a Terrorist Organization; Grants Deferral under CAT
The court upheld the BIA’s findings that the Eritrean Liberation Front is a Tier III terrorist organization and that Petitioner engaged in terrorist activities, but finding the possibility of torture more likely than not, granted deferral. (Haile v. Holder, 9/26/11)
CA7 Rejects Asylum Claim Based on Fear of Retribution from Co-Defendants
The court rejected Petitioners’ claim that the U.S. must grant them asylum because it placed them in danger by inducing their cooperation in a criminal visa fraud case, noting that the S visa might be more appropriate. (Jonaitiene v. Holder, 9/26/11)
DHS PIA for ICE’s Alien Medical Tracking Systems
DHS Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) describing the IT systems that are used to track information from medical records for individuals in ICE custody, the data maintained in these medical tracking systems, the purposes for which the data is collected and used, and more.
CA2 Says Petitioner’s Undocumented Husband Was “Available” to Testify
The court held that Petitioner’s undocumented husband was “available” to testify despite his fear of apprehension, noting that he would have been eligible for derivative asylum status and had every incentive to testify on his wife’s behalf. (Chen v. Holder, 9/23/11)
CA9 Remands CAT Claim for Deferral of Removal from Honduras
The court found that the BIA mischaracterized the record with regard to one expert’s consistency with DOS reports, criticized the expert’s testimony for reasons not supported by the record, and failed to acknowledge a second expert witness. (Cole v. Holder, 9/22/11)
CA3 Says Ten-Year Bar to Admissibility Trumps §245(i) Adjustment
The court gave deference to the BIA’s reasonable statutory interpretation that the ten-year bar under INA §212(a)(9)(B)(i)(II) precludes adjustment of status under INA §245(i) and denied the petition for review. (Cheruku v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 9/22/11)
Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and Request for Release from Detention
Sample petition for writ of habeas corpus and request for release from detention. (December 2010) (Complaint, Amendment, Other Pleading)
Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief
Sample petition for writ of habeas corpus to remedy unlawful detention and request that the court find the automatic stay provision at 8 CFR §1003.19(i)(2) unconstitutional. (April 2010) AILA Doc. No. 11092261.
The Morton Memo: Supplemental Guidance for ICE Agents
There is a joke developing out here in the field: How many ICE agents does it take to apply the June 17, 2011, Morton Memo? Answer: Two—one to read it and another to ignore it. That's how I felt last week when the ICE Detroit Field Office issued a terse denial to a well documented application [̷
BIA on 5-Year Statute of Limitations for Rescission of LPR Status
The BIA held that the five-year statute of limitations in §246(a) does not bar removal of an alien admitted on an immigrant visa because that section relates only to rescission of LPR status acquired through adjustment. Matter of Cruz de Ortiz, 25 I&N Dec. 601 (BIA 2011)
CRCL Releases First and Second Quarterly Reports for FY2011
DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) combined quarterly report to Congress, dated 9/20/11, providing data and analysis regarding the office’s activities during the first and second quarters of FY2011 and a flow chart of the CRCL process.
CA9 Rejects Challenge to §212(c) Special Motion to Reopen Deadline
The court held that the April 26, 2005 deadline to file motions to reopen for §212(c) relief is a constitutionally sound procedural rule and that absent exceptional circumstances, petitioners that miss the deadline are not entitled to relief. (Luna v. Holder, 9/19/11)
CA2 Says Firm Resettlement Inquiry Is Not Limited to Post-Persecution Ties
The court held that the firm resettlement inquiry requires consideration of all ties established by an alien in a third country before entering the U.S., including ties formed prior to the persecution giving rise to the asylum claim. (Tchitchui v. Holder, 9/19/11)
DHS HSAC Secure Communities Task Force Report
DHS Homeland Security Advisory Council’s Task Force on Secure Communities report recommending ways ICE may improve the Secure Communities program.
CA9 Rejects Leap Year Argument in Defining “One Year” Term of Imprisonment
The court held that for purposes of INA §101(a)(43)(F), a sentence of 365 days qualifies as a “term of imprisonment [of] at least one year,” even when the sentence was served in whole or in part during a leap year. (Habibi v. Holder, 9/14/11; amended 12/8/11).
BIA Says IJ Scope of TPS Review Is Not Limited to Evidence Submitted to USCIS
The BIA held that the IJ may consider any material and relevant evidence in support of a TPS application that is renewed in removal proceedings, regardless of whether the evidence was previously considered by USCIS. Matter of Figueroa, 25 I&N Dec. 596 (BIA 2011)
BIA Says IJ Scope of I-751 Review Is Not Limited to Evidence Submitted to DHS
The BIA held that the IJ should consider new evidence submitted in support of a renewed I-751 with a waiver of the joint filing requirement regardless of whether the evidence was previously considered by DHS. Matter of Herrera Del Orden, 25 I&N Dec. 589 (BIA 2011)