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
BIA Finds CSPA "Sought to Acquire" Requirement Not Equivalent to Filing an Application
Unpublished BIA decision, where the BIA held that the INA § 203(h)(1) requirement that an applicant have “sought to acquire” LPR status within one year of visa availability does not require the filing of an application, rejecting USCIS and DOS policy.
USCIS Provides Executive Summary from Field Operations Stakeholder Meeting (10/6/10)
USCIS provided the executive summary from the 10/6/10 field operations stakeholder engagement. USCIS provided updates and answers to stakeholder questions. Present during the meeting were headquarters, regional, and district leadership from the FOD.
CA3 Remands Chinese Population Control Asylum Claim
The court held that the evidence compeled the conclusion that the petitioner was persecuted on account of her resistance to China’s coercive population control policies and remanded to the BIA. (Cheng v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 10/6/10)
Federal Law Enforcement in Virgin Islands Standardize Procedures Related to Undocumented Immigrants
CBP press release on the standardization of procedures for federal law enforcement agencies in the Virgin Islands dealing with the interdiction, investigation, and prosecution of undocumented immigrants.
CA9 Finds Alaska Coercion Conviction Is Not Categorically a Crime of Violence
The court held that a conviction for coercion under Alaska Statute §11.41.530(a)(1) is not categorically an aggravated felony crime of violence as defined under INA §101(a)(43)(F). (Cortez-Guillen v. Holder, 10/5/10)
CA10 Adopts BIA Interpretation of “One Central Reason”
The court adopted the BIA’s interpretation of “one central reason” set forth in Matter of J-B-N- and S-M-, that the protected ground cannot be incidental, tangential, superficial, or subordinate to another reason for harm. (Dallakoti v. Holder, 10/5/10)
ICE Secure Communities Statistics for September 2010
ICE Secure Communities Monthly IDENT/IAFIS Interoperability statistics through 09/30/10 released on the ICE FOIA electronic reading room.
EOIR Announces Expansion of LOP Initiatives
EOIR press release on expansion of its Legal Orientation and Pro Bono Program (LOP) including extending the LOP to serve detainees in proceedings before the Varick Street Immigration Court, a pilot program in Miami and a LOP for custodians of unaccompanied alien children.
ICE Releases October 2010 “Mandatory Memo” on Secure Communities
An October 2010 ICE memo from ICE Deputy Legal Advisor Riah Ramlogan to ICE Assistant Deputy Director Beth Gibson presenting ICE’s legal arguments for making Secure Communities mandatory. The memo was made public only after several NGOs fought an extended legal battle.
ICE Announces Results of Repatriation Program
ICE press release on the 2010 results from the Mexican Interior Repatriation Program. During 2010, 23,384 Mexican citizens were found unlawfully in the Sonora Arizona desert region and voluntarily returned to hometowns in Mexico.
DOJ OIL September 2010 Litigation Bulletin
DOJ Office of Immigration Litigation September 2010 Bulletin includes an update on asylum cases defining "other resistance" to China's coercive population control policies, an article about employment authorization and lawful status, and other litigation highlights.
Immigration Law Advisor, September 2010 (Vol. 4, No. 8)
Immigration Law Advisor with an article on evaluating the authenticity of foreign documents in removal proceedings, federal court activity for August 2010, the Ninth Circuit’s revisiting of the “unable or unwilling to control” standard, recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
AILA Files Amicus Brief in Second Circuit Case, Ragbir v. Holder
AILA amicus brief filed in support of panel rehearing and rehearing en banc, arguing that the court improperly applied the futility doctrine in refusing to remand, and rendered its decision based on a standard and evidence not considered by the BIA post-Nijhawan.
SSA POMS Requirements With Respect to Status Changes
SSA’s RM 10211.510 provides guidance on actions and evidence required when an individual changes status, which may include the issuance of an original or replacement SSN card.
ICE Announces the Arrest of 78 Individuals in Colorado
ICE announcement that in the largest operation throughout Colorado this year, 78 individuals were arrested during a Fugitive Operations Program initiative. Those individuals who are not being criminally prosecuted will be processed administratively for removal.
DHS: It’s Time to Act
“Representative [Lamar] Smith … called for the Immigration and Naturalization Service to exercise prosecutorial discretion in hardship cases. That is, immigration officials would simply decline to proceed with a deportation case… Second, Mr. Smith proposed that the attorney general use a
CA5 Distinguishes Employment Authorization and Lawful Immigration Status
An automatic 240-day extension of employment authorization that accompanies an extension of nonimmigrant status under 8 CFR §274a.12(b)(20) does not provide lawful immigration status for purposes of INA §§245(c)(2) and 245(k)(2)(A). (Bokhari v. Holder, 9/29/10)
New York Pardon Panel Procedure and Q&As
New York State Pardon Panel information page on the procedure for seeking a pardon to relieve deportation consequences and Q&As on the Pardon Panel. All pardon requests must be submitted by 10/1/10.
BIA on Interpretation of “Admitted” under INA §101(a)(13)(A)
In an unpublished decision, the BIA remanded to the IJ to determine whether the respondent was properly admitted to the United States under Matter of Quilantan following his entry through the Canadian border. Courtesy of Danny Garmo.
IJ Grants Asylum Due to Gang Recruitment Efforts
In an unpublished decision, the IJ found the respondent qualified for asylum based on membership in the particular social group, “male siblings of those murdered by gangs who resist active recruitment efforts by the same gang.” Courtesy of Joanna Ritcey-Donohue.
CA11 Remands Sexual Orientation Asylum Claim Where IJ Engaged in Stereotyping
The court vacated and remanded a Serbian sexual orientation claim, finding that the IJ’s decision was impermissibly based on homosexual stereotypes, which precluded the court from engaging in meaningful appellate review. (Todorovic v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 9/27/10)
CA9 Proceeds on Merits of Derivative Asylum Claim Despite Death of Principal (Withdrawn 5/5/11)
Over dissent, the court dismissed the principal asylum applicant’s claim as moot due to his death, but declined to dismiss the derivative’s claim in light of the possible collateral consequences of such action. (Saval v. Holder, 9/23/10)
Ex-Armenian Consular Employee Pleads Guilty to Immigration Fraud
A former employee of the Armenian consulate in Los Angeles pleaded guilty to selling “letters of refusal,” for as much as $37,000. The letters are issued by embassies and consulates and state that a country will not issue a travel document for a particular individual.
Grand Jury Indicts Michigan Dairy Farm on Harboring Charges
Federal grand jury indictment of Aquila Farms, LLC and two supervisors for conspiring to harbor undocumented workers after receiving notification from SSA that the named individuals were not authorized to work. (U.S. v. Verhaar, 9/22/10)
EOIR Memorandum on 1-800 Number and Privacy Enhancements
EOIR 09/21/10 memo from Brian M. O’Leary, Chief Immigration Judge, on a recent EOIR decision on privacy enhancements and public use of the Alien-Number (A-Number). The memo directs courts to implement two operational safeguards to avoid public disclosure of the A-Number.