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
CA6 Vacates and Remands Chinese Gender-Based Asylum Claim
The court remanded, holding that BIA failed to make an explicit finding on whether petitioner was a member of a particular social group, but appeared to base asylum denial on the fact that she was not targeted in part on account of her gender. (Qu v. Holder, 8/27/10)
Crying Wolf
On August 20 John Morton, head of ICE, issued a memorandum to the agency about how to handle deportation cases involving foreign nationals who are also legally eligible to apply for green cards. The policy has the anti-immigrant restrictionists and their friends on Capitol Hill in a tizzy and howli
USCIS Memo on Uniform Denial Language Pertaining to Appeals to the BIA
USCIS 8/26/10 memorandum providing guidance to USCIS officers on uniform denial language pertaining to appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).
USCIS Issues 30-Day Comment Request on Extension of Form I-243 Validity (Updated 09/01/10)
USCIS 30-day comment period on extension of validity of Form I-243, Application for Removal. Comments are due 9/27/10. (75 FR 52541, 8/26/10) (75 FR 32799, 06/09/10)
CA8 Finds Reinstatement of Removal Not Impermissibly Retroactive
Over dissent, the court found no retroactive effect in the application of reinstatement of removal under INA §241(a)(5) as applied to Petitioner, who had an asylum application pending when the 1996 reinstatement provision was enacted. (Jerez v. Holder, 8/25/10)
Report on Sexual Abuse and Harassment in U.S. Immigration Detention
Human Rights Watch report, Detained and at Risk, describes documented incidents and allegations of sexual abuse and harassment in U.S. immigration detention. The report also discusses recent ICE proposals to address the issue.
BIA on IJ Authority to Determine Frivolity of Asylum Applications
The BIA held that a determination that an alien has filed a frivolous asylum application can be made in the absence of a final decision on the merits of the application or in circumstances where the asylum application has been withdrawn. Matter of X-M-C-, 25 I&N Dec. 322 (BIA 2010)
CA9 Finds Distribution of a “Listed Chemical” is an Aggravated Felony
The court held that a conviction for distributing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine with reasonable cause to believe they would be used to manufacture methamphetamine under 21 USC §841(c)(2) is an aggravated felony drug trafficking crime. (Daas v. Holder, 8/24/10)
CA3 Finds No Jurisdiction to Grant Stay of Voluntary Departure
The court held that under 8 CFR §1240.26(i), it cannot stay a grant of voluntary departure after a petitioner seeks judicial review because the grant has already terminated. (Patel v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 8/24/10)
EOIR to Relocate Philadelphia Immigration Court
EOIR announcement on the closing of the Philadelphia Immigration Court on 8/27/10, to prepare for relocation to the Robert C. Nix Federal Building in Philadelphia, PA. The Court will recommence hearings at the new location on 9/1/10.
BIA Modifies Matter of Rocha Decision on Controlled Substance Traffickers
The BIA held that an alien is removable, where an appropriate immigration official knows or has reason to believe alien is a controlled substance trafficker at time of admission. Matter of Rocha, modified. Matter of Casillas-Topete, 25 I&N Dec. 317 (BIA 2010)
CA9 on Personal Use Exception to Controlled Substance Deportability Ground
The court held that INA §237(a)(2)(B)(i) which exempts from removal those convicted of a single offense involving possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana for one’s own use does not apply to persons with more than one drug conviction. (Rodriguez v. Holder, 8/23/10)
CA9 on Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies in Pre-Compean Case
The court found that the application of Compean did not have retroactive effect and that Petitioner failed to exhaust his administrative remedies by not filing a motion to reopen with the BIA before filing a habeas petition. (Singh v. Napolitano, 8/23/10)
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)