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 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 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.
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)
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
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.
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)
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.
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)
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)
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.
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.
EOIR Relocates Denver Immigration Court
EOIR announcement that the Denver Immigration Court will recommence hearings at its new location on 09/22/10. The court's phone number will remain the same. Court contact information is included in the news release.
EOIR Update: 1-800 Number Access Requirements to Remain the Same
EOIR announcement that access to the new automated case status system will remain identical to the original system. Users will continue to access case information by entering the relevant alien registration number.
EOIR Updates to OCIJ Court Practice Manual
EOIR announcement on amendments to the Immigration Court Practice Manual. All of the changes have been made to the Practice Manual available online.
EOIR Issues Memo on Processing Cases Subject to a Protective Order
Obtained via FOIA by Hoppock Law Firm, EOIR released a memo from David L. Neal to Board Legal Staff on the processing of cases by BIA legal staff that involve a protective order including a Standard Operating Procedure. Special thanks to Matthew Hoppock.
EOIR Issues Memo on IJ Decisions Imbedded in the Transcripts
Obtained via FOIA by Hoppock Law Firm, EOIR released a memo from Lori L. Scialabba to BIA Board members on the implementation of Matter of A-P-. Special thanks to Matthew Hoppock.
EOIR OPPM 10-01: Procedures for Handling Requests for a Stipulated Removal Order
EOIR 9/15/10 Operating Policies and Procedures Memorandum 10-01 from Brian M. O’Leary, Chief Judge, containing guidance for the immigration courts on how to handle requests for a stipulated removal order.
CA3 on Res Judicata and 212(c) Waiver Application
The court held that res judicata did not bar the government from lodging new removability charges based on convictions it had not previously raised and that petitioner’s 212(c) waiver did not apply to the instant removal order. (Duhaney v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 9/14/10)
CA8 Remands Congolese Case for Clear Probability of Persecution
The court directed the BIA to consider whether Petitioner’s current activities would cause him to be singled out for persecution, and whether a pattern and practice of persecution exists as to actual and imputed political dissidents. (Malonga v. Holder, 9/14/10)
BIA Finds “One Central Reason” Standard Applies to Withholding of Removal
The BIA held that the “one central reason” standard that applies to asylum applications pursuant to INA §208(b)(1)(B)(i) also applies to applications for withholding of removal under §241(b)(3)(A). Matter of C-T-L, 25 I&N Dec. 341 (BIA 2010)
OIL Monograph: Immigration Consequences of Crimes
Office of Immigration Litigation reference guide created in response to the Supreme Court decision Padilla v. Kentucky, which requires defense counsel to effectively advise their clients on the immigration consequences of a guilty plea in a criminal case.
BIA Applies Notice Requirement for In Absentia Orders to CA11 Cases
The BIA remanded, finding that the holding in Matter of G-Y-R-, as to the notice required to authorize the entry of an in absentia order, is applicable to cases arising in CA11. Matter of Anyelo, 25 I&N Dec. 337 (BIA 2010)