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
Senators Ask for Executive Action on Behalf of DREAMers
A 4/13/11 letter from 22 Senators to President Obama asking that deferred action be granted to certain DREAM Act-eligible students.
AILA Comments on DHS Regulatory Review
AILA’s comments on the Department of Homeland Security’s implementation of Executive Order 13563, “Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review.” Special thanks to the AILA Interagency Liaison Committee.
Spelling Out the Demise of DOMA in Five Steps
AILA Amicus Committee alert on what the 2/23/11 announcement by the DOJ means, where DOJ stated that it would no longer defend DOMA in pending litigation challenging its constitutionality but it would continue to enforce DOMA until there was a final judicial resolution.
USCIS Asylum Division Stakeholder Meeting Minutes
USCIS Asylum Division minutes from its 4/12/11 quarterly stakeholder meeting. Topics include proposed customer inquiry response procedures, the asylum EAD Clock, and more. Original invitation follows minutes.
District Court Says Employee Has Right to Remain in U.S. While Extension Application Is Pending
The court held that ICE may not arrest an H-1B employee for whom a timely-filed extension application is pending and that “work authorization is part and parcel of their authorization to be in the country, not a separate matter.” (El Badrawi v. U.S., 4/11/11)
CA9 Reverses Course on Acosta v. Gonzales
The court gave Chevron and Brand X deference to Matter of Briones, and held that aliens who are inadmissible under INA §212(a)(9)(C)(i)(I) may not seek adjustment of status under INA §245(i). (Garfias-Rodriguez v. Holder, 4/11/11)
Update on Padilla v. Kentucky in the State Courts: Analyzing Florida’s Hernandez v. State
AILA Amicus Committee alert on how Hernandez v. State characterized Padilla v. Kentucky as creating a “new rule” that should not be applied retroactively.
CA9 Upholds Requirement that Past Persecution Occur in Country of Removal
The court upheld 8 CFR §1208.16(b)(1)(i), requiring past persecution to have occurred in the country of removal, and denied asylum to Petitioner who suffered spousal abuse only in the U.S. (Gonzalez-Medina v. Holder, 4/7/11)
CA9 Says BIA Has Jurisdiction to Review Post-Removal Motion
The court reaffirmed Coyt v. Holder and found that 8 CFR §1003.2(d) does not bar BIA jurisdiction to review a motion to reconsider and reopen filed after the petitioner has been involuntarily removed from the United States. (Reyes-Torres v. Holder, 4/7/11)
AILA Denounces Deportations to Haiti as Life-Threatening
AILA's public statement calling on Obama Administration to suspend deportations to Haiti until life-threatening conditions in that country are resolved.
AILA Liaison/USCIS Meetings Q&As (4/7/11)
Official Q&As from the 4/7/11 meeting between USCIS HQ and AILA liaison. USCIS responses address policy driving adjudications, Kazarian guidance, visa waiver program adjudications, H-1B portability, implementation of VIBE, and more.
CA3 Finds Limited Jurisdiction over Decision to Deny Sua Sponte Reopening
The court found jurisdiction over the denial of a sua sponte motion and held that the BIA erred in finding that Petitioner’s health issues were irrelevant to his persecution claim. (Pllumi v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 4/6/11)
District Court Finds Padilla Cannot Be Applied Retroactively
The court held that generic warnings about the possibility of deportation are not sufficient to cure prejudice in a mandatory deportation case, but that Padilla cannot be applied retroactively in post-conviction proceedings. (Hernandez v. Florida, 4/6/11)
AILA/EOIR Liaison Meeting Q&As (04/06/11)
Official questions and answers from an AILA EOIR Liaison Committee meeting with the EOIR on 4/6/11. Topics include the asylum EAD clock, gang-related asylum claims, Matter of R-A-, notice of hearings, limited appearances, joint motions, change of venue, and more.
BIA Says IJ's Conclusions on Extrajudicial Killing Were Not Speculative
The BIA held that an IJ may make reasonable inferences from direct and circumstantial evidence, and is not required to accept respondent's account where other plausible views of the evidence are supported by the record. Matter of D-R-, 25 I&N Dec. 445 (BIA 2011)
AILA/AIC Letter to Secretary Napolitano on DHS’ Use of Prosecutorial Discretion
AILA and AIC letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano expressing concerns and offering assistance and perspective with respect to implementing a well-balanced policy on the exercise of prosecutorial discretion.
ICE Announces Policy for Resumed Removals to Haiti
ICE press release announcing that the agency is resuming the limited removal of convicted criminal Haitians with final orders of removal. At this time, ICE is not removing non-criminal Haitian nationals unless they are determined to be a significant national security threat.
CA9 on “Changed Circumstances” and the One-Year Asylum Deadline
“Changed circumstances” does not require an entirely new conflict in the applicant’s country of origin, nor does the law preclude an applicant who has always feared persecution from seeking asylum because the risk of persecution increases. (Vahora v. Holder, 4/5/11)
CA7 Says §212(h) Cannot Waive Conviction Barring Cancellation
For purposes of cancellation of removal, the court held that a conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia is an offense “relating to a controlled substance” under INA §212(a)(2), and that INA §212(h) cannot serve to waive the conviction. (Barma v. Holder, 4/5/11)
ICE Memo on Strategic Use of Expedited Removal
ICE memo, dated 4/5/11, from Gary Mead, Executive Associate Director, on the strategic use of expedited removal authority. Also includes a list of instances that expedited removal should not be used. Obtained through FOIA by Stephen Yale-Loehr.
CA5 Finds Administrative Voluntary Departure Interrupts Continuous Residence
The court held that Petitioner’s administrative voluntary departure interrupted his continuous residence such that he was never eligible for LPR status under IRCA, and is therefore now not eligible for LPR cancellation of removal. (Ramos-Torres v. Holder, 4/4/11)
ICE Announces Sentencing in Scheme to Recruit Undocumented Workers
ICE press release announcing the owner of Lucky employment agency was sentenced to two years in prison, three years probation, and forfeiture of $5,200, for conspiring to transport and harbor undocumented workers. She is expected to be deported after completing her sentence.
CA9 Clarifies Standard for Stays of Removal in Light of Nken v. Holder
The court held that where the alien makes a threshold showing that irreparable harm is probable absent a stay, the court will then weigh the equities according to the general balancing approach set forth in Abassi v. INS. (Leiva-Perez v. Holder, 4/1/11)
Immigration Law Advisor, March 2011 (Vol. 5, No. 3)
Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on document similarities and credibility findings in immigration proceedings, circuit court decisions for February 2011, an article on the “exclusionary rule”, recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
DOJ OIL March 2011 Litigation Bulletin
DOJ Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) March 2011 Litigation Bulletin covers the court’s holding that application of the 30-day deadline does not violate the Suspension Clause, motions to reopen alleging changed country conditions, summaries of court decisions, and more.