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
CA2 Says Petitioner Is Bound by Attorney’s Concession of Removability
The court held that an IJ may accept a concession of removability when it is not contradicted by the record and that the concession cannot amount to “egregious circumstances” that would free an alien from the representations of his attorney. (Hoodho v. Holder, 2/6/09)
AILF Summary of AG Decision on Claims Regarding Counsel in Removal Proceedings (Updated on 2/6/09)
The Attorney General overrules the Board’s decisions in Matter of Lozada, and Matter of Assaad, finding there is no fifth amendment right to counsel. Matter of Compean-Bangaly & J-E-C, 24 I&N, Dec. 710 (AG 2009)
Neufeld Memo Revises Guidance on Adjudication of Form I-90
A 2/6/09 memo from Donald Neufeld, Acting Associate Director, USCIS, pertains to the adjudication of Form 1-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card, and amends previous guidance established in the 7/11/06 memo titled, Disposition of Cases Involving Removable Alien.
Transition Document Submitted to the Obama/Biden Policy Transition Team Regarding Actions to Enhance Protections for Noncitizen Victims of Crimes
Documents regarding VAWA, U visas, and T visas prepared for the Obama transition team by an informal coalition of organizations working on family immigration reform.
Snow Memo on Classified Information in Immigration Court Proceedings
A 2/5/09 Operating Policies and Procedures Memorandum (OPPM) from Thomas Snow, Acting Chief Immigration Judge, EOIR, provides guidance on the proper handling of classified information in Immigration Court proceedings.
CA9 Holds BIA Erred in Finding Expunged Conviction as Bar to Relief
The court holds the BIA erred in finding the petitioner statutorily ineligible for cancellation on the basis of a set-aside conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia, which had been expunged. (Ramirez-Altamirano v. Mukasey, 4/14/09)
USCIS Memo on Parole Requests for Cubans Released Under INA § 236(a)(2)
A 2/4/09 memo from John Bulger, Chief, Office of Field Operations, USCIS, provides guidance on the processing of initial parole requests presented by natives or citizens of Cuba who are present in the U.S. without having been inspected and were released from custody under INA § 236(a)(2).
Cardozo Immigration Justice Law Clinic on Immigration Raids
Cardozo Immigration Justice Clinic report titled "Constitution on ICE: A Report on Immigration Home Raid Operations," on constitutional violations that have occurred during ICE home raids including results from two FOIA lawsuits.
Secretary Napolitano Announces Appointment of Special Advisor on Enforcement and Detention and Removal
On 2/4/08 DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced her appointment of Dora Schriro as Special Advisor on Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Detention & Removal, a newly created position.
AILA Hopeful that Attorney General Holder Will Rescind Matter of Compean Decision
AILA welcomes Attorney General Eric Holder’s statement that he will reexamine a Bush Administration legal decision about the right to counsel in immigration hearings because the Constitution and immigration law require that deportation proceedings be fundamentally fair.
USCIS Amended Guidance on Processing of Initial or Renewal Parole Requests by Cubans
A 2/3/09 memo from John Bulger, Chief, Office of Field Operations, USCIS, provides amended guidance on the processing of initial parole, or renewal parole, requests presented by natives of citizens of Cuba to USCIS field offices.
AG Nominee Eric Holder on Due Process Rights in Deportation Proceedings
Nominee for Attorney General Eric Holder responds to written questions from Senator Orin Hatch (R-UT). Question number seven relates to the constitutional right to due process of law for those in deportation proceedings.
Immigration Law Advisor, January 2009 (Vol. 3, No. 1)
Immigration Law Advisor with an article on the specific intent standard in Convention Against Torture cases, federal court activity for December 2008, an article on limit of court jurisdiction on matters of “agency discretion,” recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
Motion to Vacate Decision to Reinstate Prior Order of Removal
Sample motion to vacate notice of intent/decision to reinstate prior order of removal on grounds that the proceedings which led to the order’s issuance were fundamentally unfair, Defendant was denied judicial review, and suffered prejudice. (February 2009) (Criminal Procedure)
MPI Report Finds Fugitive Program Targets Immigrants without Criminal Convictions
The Migration Policy Institute February 2009 report, “Collateral Damage: An Examination of ICE’s Fugitive Operations Program,” reveals that 73% of ICE fugitive operations arrests were unauthorized immigrants without criminal records, not the program’s stated targets.
DHS Privacy Act System of Records Notice for Removable Alien Records System of Records
DHS notice of a privacy act system of records regarding the DHS/ICE-011 Removable Alien System of Records. This system is the reissuance of the legacy system of records, Justice/INS–012 Deportable Alien Control System, as an ICE system of records. (74 FR 5665, 1/30/09)
EOIR Published a 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 3/31/09. (74 FR 5677, 1/30/09)
EOIR Issues Revised Information Collection on Form EOIR-28
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 3/30/09. (74 FR 5183, 1/29/09)
EOIR Issues Revised Information Collection on Form EOIR-40
EOIR published a revised information collection on Form EOIR-40, Application for Suspension of Deportation. Comments are due 3/30/09. (74 FR 5183, 1/29/09)
DHS SORN on Removable Alien Records System
DHS notice of the reissuance of a legacy system of records as an ICE system of records entitled DHS/ICE--011 Removable Alien Records System. Comments are due 2/27/09. (74 FR 4965, 1/28/09)
CA9 “Aggravated Felony” in Withholding of Removal
The court lays out how to determine removability as an aggravated felon by comparing the state statute of conviction to a generic federal crime. (Anaya-Ortiz v. Mukasey, 1/27/09)
CA8 Consideration of False Statements Upheld in Denial of Status Adjustment
The court held that the IJ’s denial of adjustment of status was neither arbitrary nor capricious where IJ did not ignore evidence, but found it unpersuasive. (Dukuly v. Filip, 1/27/09)
Guide for Representing Noncitizen Criminal Defendants
The Defending Immigrants Partnership released a manual entitled “Representing Noncitizen Criminal Defendants: A National Guide,” on the representation of noncitizen defendants accused of crimes.
IJ Finds Applicant Was Improperly Placed in Proceedings
The IJ granted motion to terminate proceedings, persuaded that the asylum applicant was improperly placed in removal proceedings prior to the adjudication of a previously filed asylum application. Courtesy of Geoffrey Hoffman.
Duff Memo on Prosecution of Fraudulent Document Possession Crimes Under the Identification Fraud Statute
A 1/22/09 memo from James Duff, Dir. of the Admin. Office of the U.S. Courts, transmits a letter from Kenneth Melson, Dir. of the Exec. Office for U.S. Attorneys, noting that some defendants convicted of possessing false, stolen, or unlawfully produced ID docs. may have been incorrectly sentenced.