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
Statement by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano: Disaster Response in Haiti
On 01/15/10, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano made a statement regarding DHS’s disaster response in Haiti, and suspension of removal for individuals from Haiti.
BIA on Advisals Required Upon Granting Voluntary Departure and Proof of Posting Bond
The BIA remanded for IJ to grant a new period of voluntary departure and to provide required advisals. Matter of Gamero, 25 I&N Dec. 164 (BIA 2010)
CA9 Applies Modified Categorical on Conviction Relating to a Controlled Substance
CA9 denied petition, finding conviction under Cal. Health & Safety Code § 11379(a), qualifies for removal, so long as substance involved is determined to have been controlled substance under the modified categorical approach. (Hernandez-Aguilar v. Holder, 1/12/10)
CA10 Finds K-2 Visa Holder Over 21 Years-Old Did Not “Age Out”
CA10 held that a K-2 visa holder who timely applies for adjustment of status under INA § 245(d) must be under 21 when he or she seeks to enter the U.S., but not when the adjustment application is finally adjudicated. (Carpio v. Holder, 1/12/10)
CA2 Gives Deference to BIA Holding on Asylum and Forced IUDs
The court held that the BIA’s interpretation that involuntary insertion of an IUD is not “involuntary sterilization” and not a per se ground for granting asylum is entitled to deference. (Huang v. Holder, 1/12/10)
Unaccountable Foxes Still Standing Guard Over The Same Inhumane Henhouse
by Lory Rosenberg, AILA Board of Governors member The emerging evidence of DHS's disregard and cover-up of immigrant deaths in detention is unconscionable and belongs on page one of everyone's human rights agenda. Yes, these deaths occurred 2+ years ago, but there has been no meaningful action taken
Secret Horror Stories: ICE Officials Hid The Truth About Immigrant Deaths In Detention
All Americans should be outraged by the Sunday New York Times report about how ICE officials schemed to cover up the deaths of detainees in detention. http://bit.ly/6p2xlX. The online edition includes a link to a horrifying video of an ICE detainee, Mr. Boubacar Bah, who, after mysteriously sufferin
Immigration Law Advisor, December 2009 (Vol. 3, No. 12)
Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on the top twenty immigration cases from 2009, federal court activity for November 2009, recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
CA9 on Federal Jurisdiction in Extreme Hardship I-751 Waiver Cases
CA9 concluded that IIRIRA does not bar the court from reviewing whether the respondent has demonstrated “extreme hardship” and is thus eligible for an I-751 waiver of the joint filing requirement to remove the conditions on residence. (Singh v. Holder, 1/8/10)
BIA on the Rebuttable Presumption of Reciprocal Disciplinary Sanctions
The BIA found that where the respondent was disbarred in New York and he failed to rebut the presumption that reciprocal discipline should be imposed, his suspension for seven years was an appropriate sanction. Matter of Kronegold, 25 I&N Dec. 157 (BIA 2010)
CA9 Remands Finding Suspended Non-incarceratory Sanction Not “Conviction”
CA9 remanded finding definition of "conviction" 8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(48) does not include criminal judgments whose only consequence is a suspended non-incarceratory sanction. Therefore, petitioner has not been shown to be subject to removal. (Retuta v. Holder, 1/7/10)
DHS Notice on External Investigations System of Records
DHS notice on the updating and reissuing of a system of records titled, DHS USCIS-009 External Investigations System of Records. Certain categories have been updated to clarify the nature of law enforcement investigatory records maintained by ICE. (75 FR 404, 01/05/10)
Verified Application for Writ of Habeas Corpus and Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief
Sample verified application for writ of habeas corpus and complaint to remedy Petitioner’s unlawful and unreasonably long detention. (January 2010) (Verified Application)
CA4 Affirms BIA Denial of Motion to Reopen in Asylum Case Pursuant to Removal
The court found that BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying asylum based on the statutory requirement that one must be present in the U.S. to be eligible for asylum. (Sadhvani v. Holder, 12/31/09).
CA5 Finds State Felon-in-Possession Offense Conviction Constitutes Aggravated Felony
CA5 affirmed denial of petition for cancellation of removal, finding that state felon-in-possession offenses need not have an interstate commerce element in order for the offense to be an offense “described in” 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). (Hernandez v. Holder, 12/30/09)
Report on Detention of Refugees in the U.S. Who Fail to Adjust
On 12/29/09, Human Rights Watch issued a report titled “Jailing Refugees Arbitrary Detention of Refugees in the US Who Fail to Adjust to Permanent Resident Status.” The report recommends changing U.S. law to close the legal loophole that allows for detaining these refugees.
CA5 on Establishing Required Period of Residency for Cancellation of Removal
CA5 affirmed, finding petitioner ineligible for cancellation of removal based on failure to establish required period of residency under INA §240A(a). CA5 found the rationale of CA3 in Augustin persuasive in rejecting petitioner’s arguments. (Deus v. Holder, 12/23/09)
CA1 on Mandatory Detention Following Release from non-DHS Custody
The court held that the INA contemplates mandatory detention following release from non-DHS custody for a specified offense, not merely any release from non-DHS custody. (Saysana v. Gillen, 12/23/09)
AILA Files Amicus Brief in the Supreme Court in Kiyemba v. Obama
AILA filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court in the case Kiyemba v. Obama, arguing that immigration law poses no meaningful barrier to the petitioners’ release from detention into the U.S. pursuant to the District Court’s habeas corpus authority.
CA9 Finds Immigration Court Erred by Failure to Serve Counsel of Record with Hearing Notice
CA9 reversed BIA decision that adopted IJ’s in absentia removal order and granted petition, finding that the immigration court erred because it did not serve petitioner's counsel of record with a hearing notice. (Hamazaspyan v. Holder, 12/21/09)
CA6 Affirms BIA Finding on Failure to Show Exceptional Circumstance for Missed Hearing
CA6 affirmed BIA denial of motions to reopen, finding that even if petitioner’s motions were found to be timely, he would not be entitled to relief because he has not shown that he missed his hearing due to exceptional circumstances. (Acquaah v. Holder, 12/18/09).
CA2 on Selective Enforcement Based on National Origin, Race, or Religion
The court affirmed the order partially dismissing the complaint where there was no clearly established equal protection right to be free of selective enforcement of immigration laws at the time of detention. (Turkmen v. Ashcroft, 12/18/09)
ICE Issues New Procedures for Asylum Seekers Seeking Release From Detention
On December 16, 2009, ICE announced plans to release arriving aliens who have a credible fear of persecution or torture and are currently detained. The new policy will go into effect January 4, 2010. A Fact Sheet follows the News Release.
NBC Liaison Committee Practice Tip: Filing for EAD When in Proceedings
AILA’s NBC Liaison committee provides a practice tip on what documents are acceptable as proof that an I-485 is pending before an immigration judge when applying for an EAD with NBC. AILA Doc. No. 09121560.
USCIS Fact Sheet on Processing Applications of Widow(er)s of Deceased U.S. Citizens
USCIS issued a fact sheet on the processing of applications of widow(er)s of deceased U.S. citizens. The fact sheet includes a list of questions and answers on issues including filing, employment authorization, children and removal proceedings.