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
DHS Brief on Asylum Claims Filed by Domestic Violence Victims
In an asylum case brief based on domestic violence, DHS states that applicants who have experienced domestic violence could qualify for asylum based on alternative social group formations, and proposes two formulations under which victims of domestic violence might be able to advance asylum claims.
AILA Practice Pointer on Matter of Aguilar-Aquino
An AILA Amicus Committee practice advisory regarding the BIA's interpretation of 8 CFR §1236.1(d) regarding release from custody in Matter of Aguilar-Aquino.
Ending Gulags in the United States
On April 3, Nina Bernstein published another excellent article in the New York Times entitled, Immigrant Detainee Dies, and a Life is Buried, Too. According to her article, the latest list of deaths published by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) dated February 7, 2009 notes 90 deaths of immi
CA9 Grants Petition for Review, Evidence in Support of Removability Related to Irrelevant Time Period
Court rejects removability finding where sole ground was petitioner’s failure to attend school while on F-1 visa. Proffered evidence was lack of U.S. education listed on asylum application, but charge in NTA dealt with period after asylum application was filed. (Al Mutarreb v. Holder, 4/6/09)
ICE Relocates Cincinnati Sub-Office of the Detroit Office of the Chief Counsel to Cleveland
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, announced today that beginning on April 6, 2009, the Cincinnati sub-office of the Detroit Office of the Chief Counsel will be relocated to the Cleveland sub-office.
Secretary Napolitano and Foreign Secretary Espinosa Announce Agreement on Mexican Repatriation
On 4/3/09 DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa announced an agreement on formalized arrangements for the "expedited and humane" repatriation of Mexican nationals.
EOIR Issues Revised Information Collection on Form EOIR-27
EOIR published a revised information collection on Form EOIR-27, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative Before the Board of Immigration Appeals. Comments are due 5/4/09. (74 FR 15306, 4/3/09)
EOIR Issues Revised Information Collection for Form EOIR-28
On 4/3/09 EOIR published a revised information collection on Form EOIR-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative before the Immigration Court. Comments are due 5/4/09. (74 FR 15305, 4/3/09)
EOIR Requests Comments on Revised Form EOIR-40
On 4/3/09 EOIR published an information collection on Form EOIR-40, Application for Suspension of Deportation. Comments are due 5/4/09. (74 FR 15305, 4/3/09)
EOIR Publishes Revised Information Collection on Form EOIR-31
On 4/3/09 EOIR published a revised information collection on Form EOIR-31, the form used to request for recognition of a non-profit religious, charitable, social service, or similar organization. Comments are due 5/4/09. (74 FR 15304, 4/3/09)
CA5 Holds Petitioner is Ineligible to Apply for Cancellation of Removal Because of Controlled Substance Conviction
CA5 holds that a conviction for possession with intent to deliver cocaine in Texas is a felony under the Controlled Substance Act, thus the BIA did not err in holding that the petitioner is ineligible for cancellation of removal. (Vasquez-Martinez v. Holder, 4/2/09)
Game Over: Accused Nazi Death Camp Gaurd John Demjanjuk to Be Deported to Germany Sunday
It's ironic. In the end it's the Germans who will make the deportation of accused Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk a reality. Demjanjuk's case has been in and out of the headlines for the past 30 years, ever since the US Department of Justice began its efforts to strip him of his US citizenship
Immigration Law Advisor, March 2009 (Vol. 3, No. 3)
Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on balancing fairness and finality in deficient performances of counsel claims, federal court activity for February 2009, recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
DHS OIG Report on ICE Detention Bedspace Management
An April 2009 DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) report conveys the findings of an audit to determine whether ICE is acquiring detention bedspace in a cost-effective manner.
CA11 Finds Petitioner Convicted after Trial Does Not Satisfy St. Cyr’s Reliance Requirement
The court holds that reliance is a component of the retroactivity analysis as it applies to aliens, deportable for criminal offenses, who wish to show that IIRIRA’s repeal of § 212(c) has an impermissible retroactive effect. (Ferguson v. U.S. Attorney General, 3/31/09)
EOIR Responds to USA Today Article on Immigration Court Backlogs
In a 3/30/09 letter, Thomas Snow, Acting Director, EOIR, responded to a USA Today article on immigration court backlogs.
What a Difference a Year Makes
Nearly a year ago, on May 12, 2008, we witnessed the largest worksite raid in US history when ICE stormed the Agriprocessor's meat packing plaint in Postville, Iowa. The massive raid lead to the arrest and criminal prosecution of nearly 400 undocumented workers, mostly uneducated Guatemalan farmers.
Two Excellent Editorials in Today’s New York Times
Check out “Border Control“ The Times' editorial arguing that a realistic border policy can only be implemented in conjunction with comprehensive immigration reform http://tinyurl.com/crt8x2. And don't miss Lawrence Downes' thoughtful piece “Don't Deport Benita Veliz“, calling for passage
CA9 Holds Evidence Regarding Appellant’s Citizenship Improperly Admitted as Hearsay
CA9 finds appellant is not derivative citizen as his stepfather is not related by blood and was not married to his mother at the time of his birth. But it finds that conviction for being removed, then found in the U.S., was based on hearsay. (United States v. Marguet-Pillado, 3/27/09)
TSC Practice Alert: NTAs Issued on Approved I-140s for 245(i) Eligible Beneficiaries
The AILA/TSC Liaison committee is collecting information to release to the Texas Service Center so that corrective action may be taken on I-140 petitions that were approved for a beneficiary who is 245(i) eligible, yet TSC issued an NTA. AILA Doc. No. 09032769.
CA9 Finds Petitioner with Expunged State Conviction Ineligible for Relief Because of Probation Violation
The court denies the petition holding that Federal First Offender Act (FFOA) relief is not available when the person whose conviction is expunged has violated a condition of probation. (Estrada v. Holder, 3/26/09)
CA9 Finds Alien Smuggling Inadmissibility Waiver Does Not Apply to Applicants for Cancellation of Removal
The court holds that 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(11) does not authorize the Attorney General to waive the “alien smuggling” bar to establishing good moral character for purposes of cancellation of removal. Overrules Moran v. Ashcroft. (Sanchez v. Holder, 3/26/09)
CA8 Rejects Argument that Government Evidence of Fraud is Inadmissible Hearsay
CA8 found that the govt’s evidence was admissible because it was probative and fundamentally fair. Also found statute of limitations applies only to recissions of adjustment of status and not to removal proceedings. (Kim v. Holder, 3/26/09).
CA1 Denies Equitable Tolling, Finds Lack of Due Diligence
The court found that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying equitable tolling where Petitioner failed to exercise diligence by waiting over two years from the IJ’s initial decision before filing a motion to reopen. (Dawoud v. Holder, 3/26/09)
MSNBC Does Immigrant Detention
Its about time that the National Media started paying attention to America's new Gulag system of immigrant detention. Building remote detention centers with private contractors in places without lawyers, monitoring or relation to the location of the detained immigrant's family is just not right. Dep