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 Files Amicus Brief in Case Involving the Application of §212(a)(9)(C) to Minors
AILA amicus brief urging the BIA to find that INA §212(a)(9)(C) does not apply to minors under the best reading of the statute because minors are treated differently than adults under the immigration laws and should not be held culpable in the same way as adults.
CA10 Dismisses, Says Petitioner Failed to Raise Substantial Constitutional Issue
In a nonprecedential decision, the court held that Petitioner’s due process and equal protection arguments failed to demonstrate that he received a unfair hearing or was treated differently and that he failed to present a substantial constitutional issue. (Pizano-Zeferino v. Holder, 8/8/11)
CA5 on the Fugitive Disentitlement Doctrine
The court dismissed the petition, finding that that Petitioner became a fugitive when he did not surrender for removal despite the fact that his address was known to authorities and DHS made no attempt to locate or arrest him. (Bright v. Holder, 8/8/11)
BIA on Production of TPS Application in Proceedings
The BIA held that when an application for TPS that has been denied by USCIS is renewed in removal proceedings, the IJ may, in the appropriate circumstances, require DHS to provide the application that the applicant filed with USCIS. Matter of Rivera, 25 I&N Dec. 575 (BIA 2011)
EOIR Memo on Salt Lake City Immigration Court Relocation
An 8/5/11 memo from Jon Hill, EOIR Court Administrator to the AILA Utah Chapter on the relocation of the Salt Lake City Immigration Court. The memo includes information regarding filing, hearings, and contacting the court during the move, and more.
ICE Terminates Secure Communities MOAs, Reaffirms Nationwide Rollout by 2013
On August 5, 2011, DHS announced that a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between ICE and a state is not required to activate or operate Secure Communities in any jurisdiction and as a result, terminated all existing Secure Communities MOAs.
Four Individuals in Removal Proceedings Admit to Bribing ICE Official
ICE press release announcing that four undocumented individuals who were subject to removal due to previous criminal convictions pleaded guilty in federal court to bribing an ICE Enforcement and Removal Assistant to alter their reporting requirements and criminal histories.
Opening Brief of Petitioner, Petition for Review
Sample opening brief arguing that Petitioner’s conviction is not a CIMT, that Silva-Trevino is not entitled to Chevron deference, and that its application is contrary to Fourth Circuit precedent and would have an impermissible retroactive effect. (April 2011) AILA Doc. No. 11080433.
CA3 Rejects Departure Bar at 8 CFR §1003.2(d)
The court held that the departure bar under 8 CFR §1003.2(d) is inconsistent with INA §§240(c)(6)(A) and (7)(A) which permits an alien to file one motion to reopen and one motion to reconsider without geographic limitation. (Espinal v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 8/3/11)
CA10 Grants Rehearing En Banc in “Departure Bar” Case
The court granted rehearing en banc to revisit its prior holding that 8 CFR §1003.2(d) precludes consideration of a removed alien’s motion to reopen when filed within the 90 day time limit. AILA and AIC appear as amici. (Contreras-Bocanegra v. Holder, 8/2/11)
CA8 Rejects Social Group Claim in MS-13 Case
The court agreed with the BIA that “persons resistant to gang violence” are too diffuse to be recognized as a social group and that Petitioner’s family was no different from any other Salvadoran family that has experienced gang violence. (Constanza v. Holder, 8/1/11)
DOJ OIL July 2011 Litigation Bulletin
DOJ Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) July 2011 Litigation Bulletin covers calculating the costs of immigration, the overturning of Lujan-Armendariz, summaries of recent federal court decisions, and more.
Immigration Law Advisor, July 2011 (Vol. 5, No. 6)
Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on REAL ID credibility standards and the parameters of plausibility findings, circuit court decisions for June 2011, recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
ICE Removal Statistics: FY2007-2011 (Updated 11/15/11)
ICE removal statistics for fiscal years 2007 through July 31, 2011, including total removals, non-criminal removals, convicted criminal removals, average length of stay, and average daily population in ICE custody.
French Citizen Passes Away While in ICE Custody
ICE press release announcing the death of 29-year-old Irene Bamenga, a French citizen and Angolan national who was being detained at the Albany County Jail in New York pending her removal to France. Bamenga was the ninth individual to pass away in ICE custody during FY2011.
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)
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.
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)