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
BIA Round Up: Recent Cases
AILA Amicus Committee alert on recent BIA cases, including Matter of Gamero, Matter of Diaz and Lopez, Matter of Neto, Matter of T-M-H and S-W-C, Matter of Morales, and Matter of Rose.
ICE Privacy Act Notice of Modification to Existing System of Records
ICE Privacy Act notice of modification to an existing system of records for the Alien Criminal Response Information Management System of Records. Comments are due 3/26/10. (75 FR 8377, 02/24/10)
ICE Announces New Arrangements for Detainees Relocated from NY Facility
On 2/12/10, ICE announced modified arrangements for detainees who have been relocated from the Varick Federal Detention Facility to the Hudson Federal Detention Facility.
What to Do When a Supreme Court Expert Calls?
AILA Amicus Committee alert on calls from lawyers offering to prepare petitions for writ of certiorari and handle the case at the Supreme Court. Guest blog by Nancy Morawetz, coordinator of the Supreme Court Immigration Law Working Group at New York University School of Law.
CA4 Finds BIA May Determine Non-Aggravated Felony is Particularly Serious Crime for Purposes of Asylum
CA4 denied petition, finding that the BIA may determine that a non-aggravated felony is a particularly serious crime for purposes of asylum through the process of case-by-case adjudication. (Gao v. Holder, 2/23/10).
New York Times Issues Interactive List of Immigrant Detention Centers
The New York Times issued an interactive list of jails and detention centers used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The list includes results of annual inspections.
ICE DRO Memo on Removal Goals from The Washington Post
The Washington Post published on its website a memo dated 2/22/10 from ICE Detention and Removal Office Director James M. Chaparro on removal goals.
CA9 Finds Conviction for Receipt of Stolen Vehicle Qualifies as Crime of Moral Turpitude
CA9 denied petition finding that state felony conviction for receipt of a stolen vehicle in violation qualifies categorically as a conviction for an aggravated felony, but not as a crime involving moral turpitude. (Alvarez-Reynaga v. Holder, 2/19/10)
CA11 Remands Asylum Case Based on Analysis of In-Person Credible Death Threat
CA11 vacated and remanded asylum case, finding that a credible death threat made in person by one with the ability to carry out that threat rises to the level of persecution. (Diallo v. Holder, 2/19/10)
Notes on Nijhawan v. Holder
AILA Amicus Committee alert on Nijhawan v. Holder and the notion of a “circumstance-specific” approach to analyzing offenses.
BIA on Application of the Modified Categorical Approach to Conviction Assessment
The BIA held that in applying the modified categorical approach to assess conviction, it is proper to consider police reports’ contents as part of conviction record if incorporated into plea or admitted by alien in criminal proceedings. Matter of Milian-Dubon, 25 I&N Dec. 197 (BIA 2010)
CA9 Finds Lack of Jurisdiction to Review BIA Discretionary Denial for Abuse of Discretion
CA9 found lack of jurisdiction to review for abuse of discretion BIA’s discretionary denial of petitioner’s motion to accept untimely brief because there is no meaningful standard against which to judge agency’s exercise of discretion. (Zetino v. Holder, 2/18/10)
CA2 on “Continuous Physical Presence” and Cancellation of Removal
The court found that for purposes of cancellation of removal eligibility, petitioner’s arrest and conviction for illegal entry interrupted the period of “continuous physical presence.” (Ascencio-Rodriguez v. Holder, 2/17/10)
BIA on Cancellation of Removal Stop-Time Rule
The BIA held that when continuous residence stops upon commission of an offense pursuant to INA §240A(d)(1), the accrual of continuous residence does not restart upon the alien’s departure and re-entry into the U.S. Matter of Nelson, 25 I&N Dec. 410 (BIA 2011)
BIA Establishes Temporary “Grace Period” for Weather-related Filing Delays
BIA affords temporary “grace period” for weather-related delays for filings due between 2/5/10 and 2/18/10.
DHS Supplemental Brief in Matter of Garcia-Arreola
DHS Principal Deputy General Counsel David Martin filed a brief in Matter of Garcia-Arreola suggesting that the Matter of Saysana ought to be clarified. AILA also filed an amicus brief in the same matter.
CA8 Finds Corroborated Confession Sufficient Evidence to Support Illegal Re-entry Conviction
CA8 affirmed defendant's conviction for illegal re-entry, finding defendant's corroborated confession was sufficient evidence to support the jury verdict. (United States v. Fajardo-Fajardo, 2/12/10)
First Removals Executed under New Hampshire Rapid REPAT Program
The New Hampshire Department of Corrections announced the transfer of the first eligible parolees to the jurisdiction of ICE to be deported through a new agreement between NH and ICE under the Rapid REPAT (Removal of Eligible Parolees Accepted for Transfer) program.
CA7 on the Jurisdictional Exception in 8 U.S.C. § 1503(a) Action for Declaration of Nationality
CA7 reversed dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, finding jurisdictional exception in 8 U.S.C. § 1503(a) was directed at individuals whose claims of nationality were being or had been litigated fully in removal proceedings. (Ortega v. Holder, 2/11/10)
CA7 Finds Motion to Reopen Time-Barred Where No Basis Offer to Excuse Delay
CA7 affirmed denial of motion to reopen by departed alien, finding that petitioner’s motion was unquestionably time-barred where petitioner offered no basis to excuse a six-plus year delay in moving to reopen. (Munoz de Real v. Holder, 2/11/10)
AILA Signs on to Carachuri Amicus Brief
AILA Amicus Committee alert that AILA signed on to an amicus brief submitted in Carachuri-Rosendo v. Holder, along with 18 other community groups, civil rights organizations, immigration justice organizations, and legal service providers.
EOIR Emergency Stay Telephone System Operating Despite Weather Related Closures
AILA confirms that despite the severe weather in the Washington, DC, area, the BIA continues to staff the Emergency Stay telephone system.
TRAC Report on the $24 Billion Spent by ICE
TRAC released a report which analyzes ICE records about detainees from FY2005 through the first quarter of FY2010. The report found that funding increases by Congress contributed to a 64% increase in the number of individuals ICE detained from FY2005 to FY2009.
CA6 Grants Withholding under INA and Denies CAT Claim in Police Abuse Case
CA6 granted withholding of removal under INA and denied CAT claim, holding that evidence compels finding that Algerian police abused petitioner for suspected political affiliation and that the abuse constituted persecution. (Haider v. Holder (2/10/10).
CA9 Applies Categorical Approach and Holds Indecent Exposure Not a Crime of Moral Turpitude
CA9 applied the categorical approach and held that indecent exposure under California law is not categorically a crime of moral turpitude. (Nunez v. Holder, 2/10/10)