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
ICE Arrests 32 Foreign Nationals in Las Vegas Operation Community Shield Effort
ICE press release on the arrest of 32 foreign nationals with suspected gang ties in the Las Vegas area as the result of an ICE Operation Community Shield enforcement effort. Those individuals who are not being prosecuted on criminal charges are being processed for removal.
CA9 Finds IJ Did Not Err in Reassessing Credibility on Remand
As a matter of first impression, the court held that the IJ’s jurisdiction on remand from the BIA is limited only when the BIA expressly retains jurisdiction and qualifies or limits the scope of the remand to a specific purpose. (Fernandes v. Holder, 8/20/10)
CA9 on Notice “to the Alien” Under INA §203(g)
The court reversed the termination of Petitioner’s immigrant visa for failure to apply within one year. INA §203(g) and 22 CFR §42.67(b) require notice “to the alien” but DOS sent notice only to the attorney and the I-130 petitioner. (Singh v. Clinton, 8/20/10)
CA3 on Conditional LPR Eligibility for §212(c) Relief
The court remanded the case for the BIA to clarify whether it considered the date that petitioner was first admitted as a conditional permanent resident in its finding that he was ineligible for §212(c) relief (Gallimore v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 8/20/10)
EOIR Relocates Portland Immigration Court
As of 8/23/10, the EOIR Portland Immigration Court will be located at 1001 SW 5th Avenue, Suite 400, Portland, Oregon 97204. The court’s phone and fax numbers remain the same. This announcement includes hours of operation.
ICE Arrests 158 Individuals in Utah Operation Community Shield Task Force Effort
ICE press release on the arrest of 158 foreign nationals with suspected gang ties. The arrests were the result of a coordinated effort by ICE’s Operation Community Shield Task Force, and represents Utah’s largest ever ICE-led gang enforcement action.
ICE Memo on Guidance for Removal Proceedings Involving Aliens with Pending or Approved Applications or Petitions
An 8/20/10 ICE memo from Assistant Secretary John Morton, establishing policy for ICE to request expedited adjudication of an application or petition for an alien in removal proceedings that is pending before USCIS if approval would provide an immediate basis for relief.
EOIR Announces Phased Roll Out for New Case Information System
An EOIR announcement on a new two-phase implementation schedule for the case information system launch that EOIR announced on 8/16/10.
CA7 Finds IJ’s Metaphor on Illegal Immigration Did Not Indicate Bias
The court held that an IJ's metaphor on illegal immigration did not deny petitioner due process. The IJ said that once DHS locates an alien and “they pick him out of the stream, they don’t throw him back into the stream.” (Gutierrez-Berdin v. Holder, 8/19/10)
CA6 Finds Military “Discharge on the Basis of Alienage” Bars Expedited Naturalization
The court found that because petitioner accepted military "discharge on the basis of alienage," he was barred from naturalization under INA § 315(a) and was, therefore, ineligible for expedited naturalization under INA § 329(a). (Sakarapanee v. DHS, 8/19/10)
BIA Reverses IJ Denial Cancellation of Removal Based on Discretion
In an unpublished decision, the BIA reversed the IJ discretionary denial of cancellation of removal, finding significant social and humane considerations including close and extensive family ties to U.S. citizens. Courtesy of Robert Carpenter.
CA6 Finds Government Bears Burden of Proof on Vacatur of Convictions
The court granted petition for review, finding that the BIA improperly put the burden on petitioner to prove that the state court’s vacatur of his conviction was not for rehabilitative or immigration reasons. (Barakat v. Holder, 8/18/10)
CA9 Sets Aside Finding that Asylum Claim Was Frivolous
In a Nepalese asylum case, the court found that the IJ’s adverse credibility finding was supported by substantial evidence, but that the finding of frivolousness was procedurally unsound and not supported by a preponderance of the evidence. (Khadka v. Holder, 8/18/10)
Reporting Questions or Concerns on the New EOIR 1-800 Number
Deputy Chief Immigration Judge Michael McGoings states in an e-mail that callers wanting to report a question or concern regarding the new EOIR 1-800 number system should contact the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs.
ICE Replies to Sign-on Letter Expressing Concern with ICE Response to Utah “Blacklist”
Letter from ICE Director John Morton to National Immigrant Justice Center in response to 7/27/10 letter signed by AILA and other organizations to DHS on potential immigration enforcement actions related to a list of purported undocumented residents in Utah.
Yearbook of Immigration Statistics 2009: Tables on Immigration Enforcement
DHS Office of Immigration Statistics Yearbook of Immigration Statistics 2009 tables on Enforcement. The document includes Tables 33, 34, 35, 36, and 38 on DHS removal and return of foreign nationals.
AILA Requests EOIR to Suspend New Automated Case Information System
An 8/18/10 letter from AILA to EOIR Director Snow, requesting the agency to suspend implementation of the new automated case information system requiring both the charging document date and A# and to meet with AILA and other stakeholders before any changes.
CA7 Finds Jurisdiction to Review CAT Deferral of Removal Claims
Over dissent, the court found that neither INA §242(a)(2)(B) nor §242(a)(2)(C) bar jurisdiction to review claims regarding the denial of deferral of removal under CAT. (Issaq v. Holder, 8/17/10)
ICE Secure Communities Interoperability Statistics
ICE Secure Communities report on nationwide interoperability by conviction, which covers the period of 10/27/08 through 7/31/10. The report was released on the ICE FOIA website.
CA3 Defines the Aggravated Felony of "Sexual Abuse of a Minor"
The court held that a conviction under N.J. State Ann. §2C:14-3(a) constituted the aggravated felony of “sexual abuse of a minor” under INA §101(a)(43). (Restrepo v. Atty’ Gen. of the U.S., 8/16/10)
How to Find Charging Document Dates
EOIR page illustrating how to find the charging document date located on forms that start immigration proceedings. The charging document date is required to access case status information through the EOIR automated telephone system.
EOIR Announces Changes to Toll-Free Number for Case Information
Effective 8/23/10, EOIR will launch a new automated case status information system. The toll-free number, 1-800-898-7180, will not change, but a new local number, 240-314-1500, will be in service. Callers will need to enter the A number and date of the charging document.
ICE Arrests 63 Individuals in Arizona Cross Check Operation
ICE press release on the arrest of 63 foreign nationals with prior criminal convictions and immigration fugitives in a three-day enforcement operation in Arizona. The release includes information on the removal process for individuals arrested.
IACHR Finds U.S. Removal Proceedings Violated International Law
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights found that the U.S. violated Petitioners' rights under the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man by failing to consider humanitarian defenses to removal. (Smith and Armendariz v. U.S., 7/12/10). AILA Doc. No. 10081363.
BIA Companion Case to Cortez on Conviction for Crime Involving Moral Turpitude
The BIA held that a conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude does not render petitioner ineligible for cancellation of removal if crime is punishable by imprisonment for less than one year and falls under the petty offense exception. Matter of Pedroza, 25 I&N Dec. 312 (BIA 2010)