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 Remands Case Where Defendant Appeals In Absentia Order
The BIA sustained the appeal and remanded the case back to the Immigration Judge (IJ) where the IJ ordered the defendant removed in absentia, when the failure to appear only occurred because the defendant was in state custody. Matter of EVRA, 25 I&N Dec. 79 (BIA 2009)
ICE’s Miami Field Office Removes 423 Criminal Aliens in August
Aliens from 36 different countries were removed last month by the Ice Miami Field Office of Detention and Removal. The individuals who were removed had a variety of criminal convictions including assault, burglary, drugs, fraudulent activities, larceny, robbery, sexual assault and weapons.
TRAC Report Shows Immigration Prosecutions at Record Level in FY2009
The latest case-by-case data obtained by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) from DOJ for the first nine months of FY2009 indicates that the prosecution of federal immigration cases has continued to surge in the Obama Administration.
Enough Is Enough
CNN has a journalistic obligation to dump Lou Dobbs and his campaign of hate against immigrants. It is unthinkable that a major network would permit someone to build a career based on fear and hatred of human beings.Why the double standard when it comes to immigrants? As Janet Murguia, the President
Due Process Restoration Now!
There has been a lot of talk recently about what might be included in an immigration reform bill. Will there be a legalization/amnesty/forgiveness of “lawbreakers“ rule? Will there be an expansion of employment based and family based immigrant visa numbers to solve the economically devastating
DHS Agrees with AILF; Urges BIA to Vacate Perez-Vargas
In a brief to the BIA, DHS argues that an immigration judge does have jurisdiction to determine whether a visa petition remains valid for adjustment of status under INA § 204(j) when the applicant changes jobs. Following receipt of the brief, the BIA canceled oral argument on the issue.
CA10 Finds Post-Departure Bar Valid Exercise of AG Rulemaking Authority
CA10 denied petition and held that the 8 CFR §1003.23(b)(1) post-departure bar was a valid exercise of the Attorney General's Congressionally-delegated rule-making authority. AILF filed an amicus brief in this case. (Rosillo-Puga v. Holder, 9/15/09)
ICE Memo on Use of GPS Monitoring Devices on Persons who are Pregnant or Diagnosed with a Severe Medical Condition
ICE memo stating that effective immediately, the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program is discontinuing the use of RF and GPS ankle bracelets on persons whose medical conditions render the use of these devices inappropriate. This includes verifiably pregnant women.
CA1 Finds No Nexus in Guatemalan Social Group Claim
The court affirmed the denial of asylum, finding no nexus between the alleged persecution and Petitioner’s social group, indigenous women. (Caal-Tiul v. Holder, 9/10/09)
AILA Liaison/TSC Meeting Minutes (9/09/09)
The 9/9/09 meeting minutes address prematurely approved I-485s, responses to inquiries, I-140 transfers, I-824s, EOIR/IJ receipt and biometrics issues, EB-1 evidentiary standards, EADs, derivative family members, receipt date vs. received date, RFEs, and more.
CA1 Says Petitioner Not Subject to One-Year Asylum Deadline
The court remanded, finding that Petitioner was not required to file for asylum within one year of entry due to the fact that the requirement did not exist at the time of his arrival. (Lumataw v. Holder, 9/9/09)
CA5 Finds BIA Incorrectly Applied De Novo Review to Deny Good-Faith Hardship Waiver
The Court reverses the BIA decision to overturn the grant of a good-faith hardship waiver and remands. The Court finds that the BIA incorrectly applied de novo review to conclude that the marriage was not entered into in good faith. (Alvarado De Rodriguez v. Holder, 9/9/09)
CA3 Remands Past Persecution Claim To BIA
The court remanded, holding that the BIA’s denial of Petitioner’s past persecution claim was not supported by substantial evidence, where Petitioner presented evidence that she witnessed a brutal assault on a family member. (Camara v. Att'y Gen. of the U.S., 9/4/09)
CA1 Rejects Social Group Claim of Senegalese Woman
The court held that women who had a child out of wedlock, and are considered adulterers because they gave birth to a child allegedly not their husband’s and have been abused by their husbands is not a protected social group. (Faye v. Holder, 9/2/09)
MPI Report on Immigration Detention
In September 2009, MPI released a report on ICE’s responsibilities for immigration detention facilities.
CA2 Says No Natz Adjudication While While Removal Proceedings are Pending
The court held that INA §318 bars DHS from considering a naturalization application where removal proceedings are pending and that individuals in removal proceedings may not avail themselves of 8 CFR §1239.2(f). (Perriello v. Napolitano, 9/1/09)
CA9 on “Grandfathering” Under INA §245(i)
A derivative spouse is only eligible for §245(i) adjustment if he or she is “accompanying or following to join” the principal alien. Status as a mere registrant for the RAW program does not grandfather petitioner into §245(i). (Landin-Molina v. Holder, 9/1/09)
Immigration Law Advisor, August 2009 (Vol. 3, No. 8)
Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on changed circumstances and country conditions for asylum cases, federal court activity for July 2009, an article on the REAL ID act, and a regulatory update.
ICE Extends Information Collection on Electronic Bonds Online Access
ICE extension of the information collection on Electronic Bonds Online (eBonds) Access. Related forms are Form I-352SA, Surety eBonds Access Application and Agreement and Form I-352RA, eBonds Rules of Behavior Agreement. Comments are due 9/30/09. (74 FR 44865, 8/31/09)
USCIS Issues Guidance for Surviving Spouses of U.S. Citizens
On 8/31/09 USCIS issued guidance on requesting deferred action for surviving spouses of U.S. citizens who died before the second anniversary of their marriage. FAQs and Fact Sheet follow.
CA7 Holds Board Abused Discretion by Rejecting Brief as Out of Time
The court held that the Board abused its discretion when it rejected Petitioner’s brief as out of time where Petitioner never received notice of the briefing schedule. (Dakaj v. Holder, 8/31/09)
CA9 Finds UCMJ Article 92 Is Not Categorically an Aggravated Felony
The court held that a violation of Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice is not categorically an aggravated felony where Petitioner pled guilty to using a government computer to access pornography. (Aguilar-Turcios v. Holder, 9/29/09; withdrawn 8/29/11)
Practice Pointer: How to Inform USCIS When TPS Is Granted by an Immigration Judge
AILA Liaison reminds practitioners to inform USCIS when late-registration Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is granted by an immigration judge in order to apply for a TPS renewal and work authorization document.
CA7 Remands to Board for Failure to Consider Petitioner’s Changed Circumstances Motion To Reopen
The Court held that the Board erred when it failed to consider Petitioner’s argument that her parent’s threat of forced marriage in Pakistan constituted a changed circumstance, allowing a second motion to reopen to be filed out of time. (Joseph v. Holder, 8/27/09)
CA1 Upholds Adverse Credibility Absent Corroborating Evidence
The court denied the petition for review, finding that the immigration judge’s adverse credibility finding was supported by substantial evidence and that Petitioner failed to provide corroborating evidence to clear up inconsistencies. (Zheng v. Holder, 8/27/09)