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
Practice Alert: Handling Family-Based Retrogression Cases before EOIR
AILA Liaison offers strategies for filing and handling adjustment of status cases in removal proceedings in light of the significant retrogression of priority dates in the family-based categories as published in the January 2011 Visa Bulletin.
ICE Announces the Arrest of 95 Individuals throughout Florida
ICE press release announcing the arrest of 93 foreign nationals with criminal records and two others during a five-day enforcement operation in Florida. All 95 are in ICE custody on administrative immigration violations and pending removal.
CA5 Remands CAT Claim for Reconsideration under “Willful Blindness” Standard
The court found that the BIA applied an incorrect legal standard in its consideration of Petitioner’s CAT claim and remanded for reconsideration under the “actual knowledge” or “willful blindness” standard. (Hakim v. Holder, 12/13/10)
AILA/ICE Liaison Meeting Minutes (10/5/10)
Minutes from the AILA/ICE Liaison Committee meeting on 10/5/10, address: prosecutorial discretion, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), mandatory detention, contract facilities, detainee transfers, and bond.
ICE Secure Communities Statistics for November 2010
ICE Secure Communities Monthly IDENT/IAFIS Interoperability statistics through 11/30/10 released on the ICE FOIA electronic reading room.
ICE Resuming Removal of Certain Haitians
In a 12/8/10, teleconference with the Haitian advocacy community in South Florida, DHS and DOS announced that ICE is resuming removals of Haitians who have been convicted of serious crimes and against whom final orders have been entered.
Privacy Impact Assessment on the ICE Electronic Discovery Software System
DHS Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) on the ICE Electronic Discovery Software System (EDSS) which supports the collection and organization of documents to meet litigation discovery requirements. ICE may also use the EDSS to process agency records in response to FOIA requests.
CA6 on Establishing Lack of Notice for Rescinding an In Absentia Order
For purposes of rescinding an in absentia order under former INA §242B, the alien must not only establish lack of actual notice, but also that the lack of notice was due to a reason other than failure to provide a current address. (Sanchez v. Holder, 12/6/10)
ICE Announces Brazilian Man Sentenced in $55 Million Visa Fraud Scheme
ICE press release announcing that Eduardo Dozzi Barbugli was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison and a money judgment of $55 million for his involvement in a visa fraud conspiracy. Barbugli will be subject to removal after he serves his sentence.
CA7 Orders Return of Plaintiff to the U.S. Following Advance Parole Revocation
The court held that 8 CFR §212.5(e)(2)(i) entitled the plaintiff, upon revocation of his advance parole, to the restoration of his pre-parole status of an adjustment of status applicant. (Samirah v. Holder, 12/3/10)
CA9 Finds Past Persecution and Well-Founded Fear in Mongolian Asylum Claim
Over dissent, the court found that the cumulative effect of multiple confrontations and threats by the Communist Secret Police in Mongolia, which caused Petitioner mental anguish and physical paralysis, constituted past persecution. (Javhlan v. Holder, 12/3/10)
How to File a Complaint with the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
The AILA CRCL Liaison Committee urges members to file complaints with CRCL in cases involving alleged abuses of civil rights, civil liberties, or profiling on the basis of race, ethnicity, or religion by DHS employees.
Final Report on the New York Immigrant Representation Program
Final report on the New York Immigrant Representation Program pursuant to LOP Task Order 32, Section D, compiled and analyzed by the Vera Institute of Justice.
VOICE: December 2010
The December issue of VOICE: An Immigration Dialogue features articles on Padilla, the new naturalization certificate and IJs, Kurzban’s haiku contest—and more! Also, meet the first Face of AILA and learn all about a new member benefit!
DOJ OIL November 2010 Litigation Bulletin
DOJ Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) November 2010 Litigation Bulletin covers a CA9 finding that individuals in removal proceedings have a statutory right to access their A-File, exhaustion of administrative remedies under the INA, updates on pending cases, and more.
Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Habeas Petition
Sample memorandum of points and authorities in support of petition for writ of habeas corpus and request for release from detention. (December 2010) (Complaint, Amendment, Other Briefing)
DOJ Directive on Use and Monitoring of DOJ Computers and Computer Systems
DOJ issued Order 2740.1A, Use and Monitoring of DOJ Computers and Computer Systems. This directive was amended by Policy Memorandum #2018-02 on 9/11/18.
CA7 Remands for CIMT Determination under Silva-Trevino
The court remanded to determine whether failure to register as a sex offender in violation of Wisconsin Statute §301.45(2)(a) is a crime involving moral turpitude under the analysis set forth in Matter of Silva-Trevino. (Mata-Guerrero v. Holder, 11/24/10)
BIA Finds TPS Grant Does Not Terminate Removal Proceedings
The BIA reinstated proceedings, finding that respondent was protected from execution of a removal order during the time her TPS was valid, but she remained removable based on the charge of inadmissibility in the NTA. Matter of Sosa Ventura 25 I&N Dec. 391 (BIA 2010)
CA7 Remands Cancellation Claim for Further Hardship Analysis
The court remanded where the IJ and BIA assumed that the father of Petitioner’s children would remain a source of the children’s support in the event of Petitioner’s deportation, and ignored the possibility of the father’s deportation. (Champion v. Holder, 11/22/10)
SSA POMS List of Documents Establishing Lawful Status
SSA’s RM 10211.530 provides a chart of the documents that establish lawful status for the purpose of obtaining a SSN card.
Government Brief in Opposition Confirms USCIS Discretion to Adjust VWP Overstays
The Solicitor General's Brief in Opposition to Certiorari in Bradley v. Holder confirms that notwithstanding Bradley and similar cases, USCIS has discretion to adjust the status of immediate relative VWP overstays no matter when the I-485 is filed.
AILA Liaison/EOIR Liaison Meeting Q&As (11/18/10)
Official questions and answers from an AILA EOIR Liaison Committee meeting with the EOIR on 11/18/10. Topics include rule-making, the Immigration Judge selection process, motions to reopen, court procedures, detention/bonds, continuances, and the asylum EAD clock.
BIA Finds Colorado Child Endangerment is a Child Abuse Crime
The BIA held that a conviction under the child endangerment clause of Colo. Rev. Stat. 18-6-401(1)(a) is categorically a crime of child abuse under INA §237(a)(2)(E)(i), even though no proof of harm or injury is required. Matter of Soram, 25 I&N Dec. 378 (BIA 2010)
CA7 on Review of Administrative Closure Decisions
The court held that the decision to deny administrative closure is a procedural ruling which the court may review under an abuse of discretion standard to determine whether Petitioner has received a full and fair hearing. (Vahora v. Holder, 11/15/10)