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 Testimony on the Southwest Border and the Challenges DHS Continues to Face
On 4/14/10, ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton testified before the House Committee on Appropriations on ICE’s FY2011 budget request for operations on the southwest border. ICE requested a 2% increase of $80 million over its FY2010 budget.
CA3 Upholds BIA Interpretation of 8 CFR §1239.2(f) on Prima Facie Naturalization Eligibility
The court deferred to the BIA's interpretation that 8 CFR §1239.2(f) requires DHS to present an affirmative communication on prima facie naturalization eligibility before termination of removal proceedings. (Zegrean v. Att'y Gen. of the U.S., 4/13/10)
CA9 Upholds BIA Finding that “Drug Trafficking Crime” Does Not Require Firearm Use
CA9 denied petition, holding that the use of a firearm is not a necessary element of a “drug trafficking crime” for the purpose of determining whether an alien has been convicted of an “aggravated felony.” (Lopez-Jacuine v. Holder, 4/12/10)
CA2 on Fraudulent VWP Applicants and Removal
The court found that since Petitioner attempted entry using a fake passport from a Visa Waiver Program nation, his removal was properly administered under that program. (Shabaj v. Holder, 4/12/10)
Detention Officer Sentenced for Repeated Sexual Abuse of Detainees
DOJ announced that U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller sentenced Robert Luis Loya, a former guard at the Port Isabel Detention Center, to three years in prison and five years of supervised release for violating the civil rights and the sexual abuse of females in his custody.
CA9 Remands Withholding of Removal Claim for Past Persecution Decision
CA9 remanded in part, finding that the IJ and BIA did not decide whether petitioner’s testimony, if believed, established past persecution. The court held that the IJ erred in making a finding of changed circumstances. (Mutuku v. Holder, 4/9/10)
CA9 Finds California Grand Theft Is an Aggravated Felony
The court found that Petitioner’s conviction for grand theft under California Penal Code §487(a) qualified as an aggravated felony under the modified categorical approach. (Ramirez-Villalpando v. Holder, 4/9/10; amended 7/1/11)
CA3 Remands, Finding BIA Erred in Review of CAT Decision
The court remanded, holding that the BIA erred in reviewing the finding of a probability of torture de novo and not under a “clearly erroneous” standard. (Kaplun v. Att'y Gen. of the U.S., 4/9/10)
DHS Privacy Impact Assessment on ICE Online Detainee Locator System
DHS issued a Privacy Impact Assessment for the ICE Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS), a public web-based system scheduled to launch on 6/2/10. ODLS allows the public to conduct online queries to locate persons detained by ICE for civil INA violations.
CA5 on Application of the Departure Bar
CA5 held that the departure bar applies an alien who departs the US after receiving notice of his deportation proceeding, but before the proceeding is completed and the IJ enters the deportation order. (Toora v. Holder, 4/8/10)
Padilla v. Kentucky – Implications of SCOTUS Insights for Ill-advised Immigrants
AILA Amicus Committee alert on the immigration implications from the Supreme Court decision Padilla v. Kentucky, where the Court held that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel requires that non-citizen defendants receive competent immigration advice regarding the deportation risks of a plea.
CA2 Finds Limited Jurisdiction to Review Moral Character Determinations
The court found jurisdiction to review a moral character determination made pursuant to INA §101(f)'s catchall provision where a "constitutional claim or question of law" is raised. (Sumbundu v. Holder, 4/7/10)
CA8 on Eligibility for Relief of Adjustment of Status
CA8 denied petitioner, upholding finding that petitioner is ineligible for relief in the form of adjustment of status based on conviction for crime of moral turpitude. (Lui v. Holder, 4/6/10)
CA7 on Requirements of Cancellation of Removal as a Battered Spouse
CA7 denied petition finding petitioner deportable under §1227(a)(2)(A)(i) and ineligible for cancellation of removal as a battered spouse because he could not meet all five requirements. (Benaouicha v. Holder, 4/6/10)
Immigration Law Advisor, March 2010 (Vol. 4, No. 3)
Immigration Law Advisor with an article on removability for smuggling under sections 212(a)(6)(E) and 237(a)(1)(E) of the INA, federal court activity for February 2010, an article on “crime of violence” standards in the wake of Johnson v. U.S., and recent BIA precedent decisions.
Emergency Request for Hearing and Memorandum of Law in Support of Habeas Petition
Sample emergency request for hearing on petition for writ of habeas corpus and memorandum of law supporting issuance of writ of habeas corpus to remedy unlawful detention (April 2010). (Complaint, Amendment, Other Pleading)
SCOTUS Affirms That Immigrants are People Too!
The Supreme Court yesterday issued what can only be considered a seminal decision as it applies to the constitutional rights of all immigrants. In Padilla v. Kentucky, 555 U. S. ___ (2010), the court expressed, at least in summary, its dismay at the increasing difficulties caused by today's immigrat
CA9 Finds CA Health & Safety Code § 11361(b) Conviction a Removable Offense
The court dismissed petition, holding that petitioner’s state conviction under CA Health and Safety Code § 11361(b) qualifies as a controlled substance offense under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(B)(i). (Guerrero-Silva v. Holder, 3/31/10)
Supreme Court Reverses Padilla Finding Counsel Must Inform on Plea’s Deportation Risk
Supreme Court reversed and remanded, holding that criminal defense counsel must inform noncitizen clients whether the plea carries a risk of deportation. (Padilla v. Kentucky, 3/31/10)
CRS Report on U.S. Immigration Policy for Haitian Migrants
On 3/31/10, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report on U.S. policy on Haitian migrants including immigration trends, policy evolution, temporary protected status, federal assistance, and options for the 111th Congress.
Immigration Detention Gone Rogue
Just when you thought it couldn't get much worse. Now we are told that ICE agents grab mentally ill immigrants right from mental hospitals, ship them off to a Texas detention center without word to family or counsel, and deport them. Could ICE's behavior be any more horrific? The latest ICE outrage
CA3 on Confidentiality Provisions and LIFE Act Family Unity
The court found that the confidentiality provisions of INA §245A(c)(5) were inapplicable to an application for employment authorization submitted by the child of a LIFE Act adjustment of status applicant. (Patel v. Att'y Gen. of the U.S., 3/30/10)
CA6 Finds Actions by Secretary of DHS within § 1252(g) Jurisdictional Bar
CA6 affirmed dismissal for lack of jurisdiction, holding that an alien’s petition for a writ of prohibition that directly challenges his or her final removal order on constitutional grounds is subject to the jurisdictional bars. (Elgharib v. Napolitano, 3/30/10).
Round Up on Silva Trevino
AILA Amicus Committee alert on Matter of Silva Trevino, and its new rule for moral turpitude determinations. Guest blogging by Jenny Pelaez, from the Immigration Justice Clinic at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.