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
4th Circuit Embraces Natural Reading of the Word “Conviction”
AILA Amicus Committee alert on how Congress changed the definition of the word “conviction” in 1996 and how the Fourth Circuit recently embraced a more natural reading of the word in Crespo v. Holder.
DHS Readout of Secretary Napolitano’s Remarks on Border Security
DHS press release on Secretary Napolitano’s speech at the University of Texas at El Paso, in which she highlighted efforts to secure the Southwest border, and also noted efforts to enforce current immigration laws, and step up labor enforcement.
White House Fact Sheet on President Obama’s Plan to Fix Our Broken Immigration System
White House fact sheet released after the 2011 State of the Union Address on President Obama’s plan to win the future by fixing our broken immigration system.
CA9 Finds Record Inconclusive Under Modified Categorical Approach (Updated 8/1/11)
The court found the record inconclusive as to how Cal. Health & Safety Code §11352(a) was violated and that the BIA erred in concluding the conviction was an aggravated felony. (Young v. Holder, 1/28/11; reh’g en banc granted 7/29/11)
CA10 Upholds Denial of Christian Indonesian Asylum Claim
The court found that the harm suffered by Petitioner did not rise to the level of persecution and that her returns to Indonesia, and the presence of family in Indonesia without further violence, undercut her fear of future persecution. (Ritonga v. Holder, 1/28/11)
CA2 Finds New York Penal Law §263.05 Is an Aggravated Felony
The court held that New York Penal Law §263.05, use of a child in a sexual performance, is not divisible, and any conviction under it is categorically an aggravated felony offense involving sexual abuse of a minor. (Oouch v. Holder, 1/28/11)
CA9 Upholds Prior Decision on Review of Sua Sponte Reopening
The court held that the Supreme Court decision, Kucana v. Holder, did not change the court’s holding in Ekimian v. INS that there is no sufficiently meaningful standard to allow court review of sua sponte reopening. (Mejia-Hernandez v. Holder, 1/27/11)
White House Blog: Immigration and Winning the Future
A White House blog post that breaks down President Obama’s call in his 2011 State of the Union address to reform America’s broken immigration system.
DHS State of America’s Homeland Security Address
DHS provided remarks by Secretary Janet Napolitano on the overall state of our homeland security. These include major initiatives involving border security and immigration in the coming year, such as strengthening the legal immigration system and rolling out E-Verify “Self Check.”
ICE Comment Request on Immigration Bond Form Extension
ICE notice of an additional 30-day comment request on the extension of the validity of Form I-352, Immigration Bond. Comments are due 2/28/11. (76 FR 4930, 1/27/11) (75 FR 68372, 11/05/10)
CA3 Finds Evidence Tampering Is an Aggravated Felony and Particularly Serious Crime
The court held that tampering with physical evidence in violation of New York Penal Law §215.40(2) is an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(S) and a particularly serious crime rendering Petitioner ineligible for withholding of removal. (Denis v. Holder, 1/26/11)
CA10 Says No §212(h) Waiver for Possession of Marijuana in a Drug-Free Zone
In a nonprecedential decision, the court found that possession of less than one ounce of marijuana in a drug-free zone in violation of Utah Code Ann. §58-37-8(2)(a)(i) and (4)(a)(ix) is not “simple possession” that would qualify for a §212(h) waiver. (Olivan-Duenas v. Holder, 1/26/11)
CA2 Finds No Proof that VWP Entrant Waived Right to Contest Removal
The court declined to adopt a presumption that a person cannot enter on a visa waiver without automatically waiving the right to contest removal, and remanded, finding the record silent as to whether Petitioner actually waived his right. (Galluzzo v. Holder, 1/26/11)
EOIR Announces 10th Anniversary of the BIA Pro Bono Project
EOIR press release announcing the 10th anniversary of the BIA Pro Bono Project. The Project was implemented in 2001 to improve access to legal information and increase pro bono representation for individuals being detained while their immigration cases are under appeal.
CA2 Upholds BIA Denial of Chinese Family Planning Claim
The court found that the harm inflicted on Petitioner, who was punched repeatedly by family planning officials and detained for two days after his wife was taken away for an abortion, did not rise to the level of persecution. (Liu v. Holder, 1/24/11)
CA1 Rejects Asylum Claim Based on Fear of FGM to Daughter
The court denied Petitioners’ motion to remand, rejecting their attempt to base a claim for asylum on the fear that their recently born U.S. citizen daughter would be subjected to FGM upon the family’s removal to Guinea. (Mariko v. Holder, 1/24/11)
What to Watch Out for on Immigration in 2011
This AILA document outlines the major immigration-related proposals that are expected to be brought up during the 112th Congress, and provides a brief analysis of their likely impact.
CA7 Declines to Remand for Review by Three-Member BIA Panel
The court rejected Petitioner’s argument that the 3-page opinion issued by a single BIA member could only have been appropriately rendered by a 3-member panel, and that 8 CFR §1003.1 clearly allows a single member to issue such an opinion. (Ward v. Holder, 1/21/11)
Ninth Circuit Litigation Update: State of Law in Ninth Circuit on Expungements and Predicting Chaos
AILA Amicus Committee alert on Nunez-Reyes and how the tone of the oral argument appears to be warning individuals residing in the Ninth Circuit that the state of the law regarding expunged drug convictions is about to change.
CA4 Denies Salvadoran Withholding Claim Based on Social Group
The court held that young, Americanized, well-off Salvadoran male deportees with criminal histories who oppose gangs is not narrow or enduring enough to clearly delineate its membership or readily identify its members. (Lizama v. Holder, 1/19/11)
CA9 Finds Immigration Consultant Fraud Excuses Late-Filed Asylum Application
The court held that the immigration consultant fraud that caused the late filing of Petitioner’s application constitutes an “extraordinary circumstance” warranting tolling of the deadline. (Viridiana v. Holder, 1/19/11; withdrawn 7/19/11)
CA9 Reverses Adverse Credibility in Chinese Christian Asylum Claim
The court reversed the adverse credibility finding as improperly based on the IJ’s perception of Petitioner’s ignorance of Christian doctrine, misstatements that did not go to the heart of the claim, and insufficient evidence of evasiveness. (Li v. Holder, 1/19/11)
BIA Remands for IJ to Apply REAL ID Act to Guatemalan Withholding Claim
Unpublished BIA decision remanding, finding it was unclear which standard of law the IJ applied in assessing credibility, and in applying the REAL ID Act, IJ should consider totality of circumstances and respondent’s age at time of persecution. Courtesy of Diana M. Bailey.
ICE Announces the Death of a Mexican National in ICE Custody
ICE press release announcing the death of Juan Palomo-Rodriguez, 30, a Mexican national in ICE Custody. He passed away at Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center as a result of natural causes. Rodriguez is the fourth detainee to pass away while in ICE custody in FY2011.
CA2 Clarifies Prior Holding on Cancellation of Removal Stop-Time Rule
The court clarified that language in prior case law indicating that the stop-time rule is triggered on the date the alien commits a predicate offense, not upon conviction, is not dicta and precludes Petitioner’s contrary argument. (Baraket v. Holder, 1/18/11)