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
DHS Annual Report on 2009 Immigration Enforcement Actions
Office of Immigration Statistics Annual Report on immigration enforcement actions including information on the apprehension, detention, return, and removal of foreign nationals during 2009.
2009 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics
DHS Office of Immigration Statistics 2009 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics. Report includes tables on legal permanent residents, refugees and asylees, naturalizations, nonimmigrant admissions, and enforcement actions.
Undated Internal USCIS Draft Memorandum Discusses Administrative Alternatives to CIR
Undated USCIS draft memorandum offering administrative relief options to promote family unity, foster economic growth, achieve significant process improvements, and reduce the threat of removal for certain individuals present in the United States without authorization.
BIA Finds Grant of Family Unity Program Benefits is Not an “Admission”
The BIA held that a grant of Family Unity Program benefits does not constitute an “admission” under INA §101(a)(13)(A) for purposes of establishing 7-year continuous residence requirement for cancellation of removal eligibility. Matter of Reza-Murillo, 25 I&N Dec. 296 (BIA 2010)
Oh Come On Now!
I'll admit it. It's summer and I'm cranky. But, come on people. Not another outbreak of hypocrisy on immigration! We've watched while agency officials pulled apart the law to find ways to make illegal the status of people here legally or struggling to attain legal status. Making Muslim men register,
CA3 Remands for Clarification or Reconsideration of Hardship in Cancellation Case
The court found that the BIA may have impermissibly applied Matter of Recinas, focusing on the number of qualifying relatives for hardship purposes instead of the hardship to Petitioner’s sole qualifying relative. (Pareja v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 7/29/10)
ICE Arrests 75 Foreign Nationals with Criminal Records in VA and DC
ICE press release on the arrests of 75 foreign nationals with criminal records in Virginia and Washington, DC, following two ICE enforcement operations. The release includes information on the removal process for individuals arrested.
CA1 Denies Asylum Claim of Former Cambodian Police Officer
The court held that fears resulting solely from past conduct as an honest police officer and potential victimization by corrupt police officers and criminals in the future does not qualify as persecution based on one of the protected grounds. (Ly v. Holder, 7/28/10)
DOJ OIL June 2010 Litigation Bulletin
DOJ Office of Immigration Litigation released its June 2010 Bulletin, which includes an article analyzing the declining percentage of published asylum-related government wins in the Eleventh Circuit, litigation highlights, and summaries of federal court decisions.
BIA Reaffirms Areguillin Interpretation of “Admitted” in INA §101(a)(13)(A)
The BIA held that for purposes of establishing adjustment of status eligibility under INA §245(a), an alien seeking to show that he or she has been “admitted” to the U.S., need only prove procedural regularity in his or her entry. Matter of Quilantan, 25 I&N Dec. 285 (BIA 2010)
CA11 Remands Finding No “Reason to Believe” Petitioner Was a Drug Trafficker
The court held that a vacated conviction that was based on a guilty plea combined with hearsay statements from police reports did not provide enough reason to believe that the petitioner trafficked in a controlled substance. (Garces v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 7/27/10)
CA9 Discusses “Unable or Unwilling” Standard for Nongovernmental Persecution
In a Ghanaian religious persecution case, the BIA erred in its “unable or unwilling” analysis by ignoring evidence favorable to Petitioner, misstating Petitioner’s testimony, and treating police reports made by others as irrelevant. (Afriyie v. Holder, 7/26/10)
HRW and ACLU Report on Detention and Deportation
A report from Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union on “Deportation by Default: Mental Disability, Unfair Hearings and Indefinite Detention in the US Immigration System."
ICE Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS) Brochure
ICE issued a brochure for the public on the Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS). The brochure includes answers to questions on how to use the search, the definition of the term “in custody,” individuals who are not included in the system, and using the information.
ICE Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS) Website
The ICE Online Detainee Locator System is a searchable online database to locate a detainee who is currently in ICE custody, or who was released from ICE custody for any reason within the last 60 days. The system cannot search for records of persons under the age of 18.
ICE Announces Launch of Online Detainee Locator System
ICE announced the launch of the Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS), a public, Internet-based tool designed to assist family members, attorneys and other interested parties in locating detainees in ICE custody. The ODLS website address is http://www.ice.gov/locator.
CA1 Finds Jurisdiction to Review BIA Denial of Equitable Tolling
The court found jurisdiction to review the BIA’s decision to deny equitable tolling of the time and number limitations on the motion to reopen, but not to review the BIA’s refusal to sua sponte reopen. (Neves v. Holder, 7/21/10)
ICE Detainee Passes Away at Orleans Parish Prison
ICE reported that a 28-year-old El Salvadoran national being held in ICE custody was pronounced dead on 7/18/10 at Orleans Parish Prison after an apparent suicide. DHS' Office of the Inspector General is conducting a review of the circumstances surrounding his death.
CA9 Interprets “Final Administrative Order” for Motions to Reopen
The denial of a motion to reconsider does not qualify as a “final administrative order of removal” for purposes of the 90-day time limitation on filing motions to reopen under INA §240(c)(7)(C)(i). (Vega v. Holder, 7/19/10)
CA5 Finds BIA Overstated Scope of Stipulation in Prior §212(c) Proceeding
The court vacated the BIA’s decision and remanded, finding that the BIA’s conclusion that Petitioner had stipulated that a 2001 conviction would be excluded from coverage under a previously granted §212(c) waiver was incorrect. (Enriquez-Gutierrez v. Holder, 7/16/10)
BIA Finds Virginia Assault and Battery Is Not Categorically a Crime of Domestic Violence
The BIA remanded, holding that a misdemeanor offense of assault and battery of a family member in violation of the VA Code Annotated is not categorically a crime of domestic violence within the meaning of INA § 237(a)(2)(E). Matter of Velasquez, 25 I&N Dec. 278 (BIA 2010)
CA7 Remands Chinese Asylum Case on “One-Child” Policy
The court remanded the asylum case of a petitioner opposed to China’s “one-child” policy, finding that the BIA overlooked the critical facts, and then it unconvincingly denied having overlooked them. (Li v. Holder, 7/15/10)
USCIS News Release & Q&As on 10,000 U Visas Approved in FY 2010
This USCIS news release and list of answers to questions on U Visas addresses the approval of 10,000 U visas in FY 2010, new petitions, conditional approval, removal proceedings and final orders of removal, issuance of U Visas for FY 2011 and the annual cap.
ICE 30-Day Extension of Comment Request on Form I-333
ICE 30-day extension of the information collection on Form I-333, Obligor Change of Address. Written comments are due 9/16/10. (75 FR 41213, 07/15/10) (75 FR 24720, 5/5/10)
CA7 Weighs in on 8 CFR §1003.2(d) “Departure Bar”
The court held that 8 CFR §1003.2(d) does not bar BIA jurisdiction over motions to reopen/reconsider where the alien departed the U.S. under an order of removal because an agency may not contract its own jurisdiction by regulation. (Marin-Rodriguez v. Holder, 7/14/10)