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
Two Individuals Sentenced For Their Roles in a Fraudulent Document Ring
ICE press release announcing that two men received 42 and 43 months in prison for their roles in a fraudulent document trafficking organization based in Mexico, which operated 19 cells in 11 states and produced false identification cards for undocumented individuals.
CA8 Rejects Claim, Says Petitioner Failed to Raise Question of Law
The court found jurisdiction to review nondiscretionary determinations underlying a denial of cancellation of removal, but declined to review Petitioner’s claim that the BIA improperly weighed the factors in its hardship determination. (Solis v. Holder, 7/28/11)
CA7 on the Effective Date of the Child Status Protection Act
Refusing to apply Chevron deference to the BIA’s decision, the court held that the CSPA applies to beneficiaries of previously approved visa petitions, but not those with applications adjudicated prior to CSPA’s enactment. (Arobelidze v. Holder, 7/27/11)
CA7 Upholds Removal of DEA Informer
The court found that reasonable, substantial, and probative evidence presented on remand established a “serious reason to believe” that Petitioner is or has been a trafficker of heroin, thus barring her from relief from removal. (Pronsivakulchai v. Holder, 7/25/11)
CA3 Says No Exception for Extended Absence from U.S. for Cancellation of Removal
The court found no humanitarian exception to the stop-time rule and upheld the denial of Petitioners’ cancellation applications despite the fact that they did not intend to stay outside the U.S. for more than 90 days. (Flores-Nova v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 7/25/11)
White House Memo on Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations
A 7/25/11 White House memorandum from President Obama to Congress, reporting a new Executive Order to declare a national emergency with respect to the threat that significant transnational criminal organizations pose to the U.S., and block the property of such groups.
White House Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime Fact Sheet
White House fact sheet on President Obama’s Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime, which seeks to reduce transnational organized crime from a national security threat to a manageable public safety problem.
White House Releases Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime
President Obama’s July 2011 Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime, released by the White House on 7/25/11, establishes priority actions aimed at reducing transnational organized crime from a national security threat to a manageable public safety problem.
Executive Order Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations
An Executive Order by President Obama, dated 7/24/11, establishing a sanctions program to block the property of significant transnational criminal organizations, and providing the criteria for the blocking of persons designated under the order.
CA7 Finds Third Party Standing in Case Challenging Constitutionality of Removal
The court found that Petitioner had third party standing to advance the argument that his removal would violate the constitutional rights of his U.S. citizen children, but joined other circuits in rejecting the merits of the argument. (Marin-Garcia v. Holder, 7/22/11)
ICE Announces Guilty Plea for Falsifying Student Information
ICE press release announcing that a former university employee who reportedly made repeated false SEVIS entries as a DSO, pled guilty in federal court to concealing and shielding foreign college students who were in violation of the terms of their student visas.
CA9 Says Violation of California Counterfeiting Statute Is an Aggravated Felony
The court found that willfully manufacturing, intentionally selling, and knowingly possessing for sale more than 1,000 articles bearing a counterfeit trademark in violation of Cal. Penal Code §350(a)(2) is an aggravated felony. (Rodriguez-Valencia v. Holder, 7/21/11)
CA9 Remands, Finds Counsel Rendered Ineffective Assistance
The court found that counsel’s failure to file a stay of voluntary departure, or seek any other avenue of relief, was not a tactical decision and that Petitioner was prejudiced by counsel’s assistance in his efforts to adjust his status. (Singh v. Holder, 7/21/11)
CA7 Finds Illinois Domestic Battery Is an Aggravated Felony
The court held that a violation of 720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/12-3.2(a)(1) for intentionally causing bodily harm to a family member is a crime of violence under 18 USC §16(a) and is therefore, an aggravated felony. (Castellanos v. Holder, 7/20/11)
CA2 Refuses to Dismiss Based on Fugitive Disentitlement Doctrine
Comparing the facts to Gao v. Holder where it applied the fugitive disentitlement doctrine to dismiss the case, the court found Gao’s case “extreme” and Petitioner’s case more “normal” and denied the government’s motion to dismiss. (Wu v. Holder, 7/19/11)
CA9 Remands for BIA to Decide if Consultant’s Actions Excuse Untimely Asylum Application
On rehearing, the court held that the BIA erred as a matter of law in finding that fraudulent deceit by an immigration consultant cannot constitute an “extraordinary circumstance” that excuses an otherwise untimely asylum application. (Viridiana v. Holder, 7/19/11)
CA11 on “Sought to Acquire” under the Child Status Protection Act
The court found that the term “sought to acquire” lawful permanent residence within one year of a visa number becoming available is broad enough to encompass substantial steps taken toward the filing of the application. (Medina Tovar v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 7/19/11)
BIA Finds California Assault Statute is an Aggravated Felony Crime of Violence
The BIA held that assault with the intent to commit a felony in violation of Cal. Penal Code section 220 is categorically a crime of violence under 18 USC §16, and is therefore an aggravated felony. Matter of Martinez, 25 I&N Dec. 571 (BIA 2011)
BIA Remands, Orders Consideration of Worsening Conditions for Christians in Iraq
In an unpublished decision, the BIA held that conditions in Iraq have changed to such an extent since the respondent’s prior removal hearing that the proceeding should be reopened to consider her application for asylum. Courtesy of Steven N. Garmo.
BIA on Changed Circumstances and the One-Year Asylum Deadline
In an unpublished decision, the BIA held that the respondent’s discovery of his HIV status was a changed circumstance, excusing the late filing. The BIA also noted that an approved labor certification would qualify as an extraordinary circumstance. Courtesy of Paul O’Dwyer.
CA9 Finds Pro-Labor Position Constitutes Protected Political Opinion
The court found that the BIA ignored the anti-government opinion Chinese officials imputed to Petitioner as motivation for abuse, and erroneously concluded that his pro-labor activities did not constitute an expression of political opinion. (Hu v. Holder, 7/14/11)
CA9 Remands for Credibility Evaluation in “Reason to Believe” Case
The court found that the IJ’s failure to evaluate Petitioner’s credibility in determining whether there was “reason to believe” he was knowingly engaged in drug trafficking was a fundamental flaw that precludes effective review. (Gomez-Granillo v. Holder, 7/14/11)
CA9 En Banc Court Overrules Equal Protection Holding in Lujan-Armendariz
The en banc court held that equal protection does not require treating, for immigration purposes, an expunged state conviction of a drug crime the same as a federal drug conviction that has been expunged under the FFOA. (Nunez-Reyes v. Holder, 7/14/11)
CA7 on Continuous Physical Presence for Cancellation of Removal
The court held that Petitioner’s continuous presence was interrupted when she signed Form I-826, Notice of Rights and Request for Disposition, and returned to Mexico in a formal, documented process while facing threat of removal. (Reyes-Sanchez v. Holder, 7/14/11)
CA7 Remands Macedonian Asylum Case; Discusses Persecution vs. Harassment
The court found that the harm suffered by Petitioners rose to the level of persecution where the couple was robbed, the husband beaten, the wife sexually molested, and her parents rendered unconscious. (Stanojkova v. Holder, 7/14/11; amended 8/16/11)