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
CA11 Determines Whether Procedural Errors Are Prejudicial, Sets Standards to Prove Torture
CA11 held it can review due process violations, but petitioner failed to establish that the outcome of his removal hearing would have been different. Applicants have to prove torture by the government to be eligible for withholding of removal under CAT. (Gardner v. Attorney General, 12/4/08)
CA2 Says Second I-751 Filed After Termination of Status Does Not Restore Status
The court found that Petitioner’s status was terminated when he failed to appear with his wife at the I-751 interview and that the filing of a second I-751 petition did not restore his status. (Severino v. Mukasey, 12/3/08)
CA1 Refuses to Equitably Toll Deadline for In Absentia Motion
The court found that the Petitioner failed to demonstrate sufficient due diligence to justify equitable tolling of the motion to reopen deadline for in absentia removal orders. (Fustaguio do Nascimento v. Mukasey, 12/1/08)
CA9 Rejects Equal Protection Claim by Petitioner with State Pardon for Controlled Substance Conviction
The court holds the petitioner failed to demonstrate that the absence of a waiver for inadmissible aliens with a state pardon is wholly irrational so as to violate equal protection. (Aguilera-Montero v. Mukasey, 12/1/08)
Immigration Law Advisor, November 2008 (Vol. 2, No. 11)
Immigration Law Advisor with an article on U.S. citizenship law, federal court activity for October 2008, AG/BIA precedent decisions, and legislative and regulatory updates.
CA3 Remands Denial of MTR for Asylum Claim Based on One-Child Policy
The court noted that the BIA must consider the evidence and arguments set forth in motions to reopen and found that the BIA abused its discretion by failing to identify or discuss statements and evidence in support of Petitioners’ motions to reopen. (Zheng v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 11/26/08)
Supreme Court Will Review Stay Standard
The Supreme Court granted certiori in Nken v. Mukasey and will review the standard governing a stay of removal pending consideration of a petition for review.
BIA Holds IJ Has Duty to Alert Pro Se Applicant to Avenues for Relief
In an unpublished decision, the BIA held that the IJ had a duty to develop the record on the potential hardship of the applicant’s removal on his son and to alert the applicant to all avenues of relief, which he failed to do with regard to voluntary departure. Courtesy of Robert Carpenter.
CA4 Finds IJ Erred in Denying Asylum as a Matter of Discretion
The court set forth a list of non-exhaustive factors that IJs should consider when determining if an individual merits asylum as a matter of discretion.(Zuh v. Mukasey, 11/25/08)
EOIR Information Collection on Forms EOIR-42A and EOIR-42B
EOIR issued an information collection on Form EOIR-42A, Application for Cancellation of Removal for Certain Permanent Residents, and Form EOIR-42B, Adjustment of Status for Certain Nonpermanent Residents. Comments are due 12/22/08. (73 FR 70675, 11/21/08)
CA11 Discusses What Rises to Persecution
CA11 found no jurisdiction to review untimely filed asylum applications. Being forced to pay for government-provided education, or evidence that activists with similar political views were arrested and detained, did not rise to the level of persecution. (Lei v. Attorney General, 11/20/08)
CA9 Denies Petition for Rehearing En Banc and Amends Opinion in Kalilu
CA9 denied the petition for rehearing en banc and made minor amendments to its earlier opinion on eligibility for adjustment of status. The court remanded the determination of a frivolous asylum application in light of Matter of Y-L-. (Kalilu v. Mukasey, 11/20/08)
CA9 Holds Undisputed Admission of Entry Date Satisfies One-Year Deadline
Finding that it had jurisdiction to determine the timeliness of the asylum application as a question of law, CA9 held that a judicial admission of an entry date within one year of filing an asylum application was an undisputed fact. (Hakopian v. Mukasey, 11/19/08)
CA8 Upholds Finding of Improved Conditions in Mauritania; Rejects Asylum
CA8 held that significant discrepancies in the record and lack of evidence supported IJ’s adverse credibility determination. It upheld the IJ’s determination that improved conditions in Mauritania rebutted any presumption of a well-founded fear based on past harm. (Sow v. Mukasey, 11/19/08)
CA9 Overturns One-Year Deadline Denial in Iranian Asylum Case
The court found that it has jurisdiction to consider the timeliness of the asylum application because it was a mixed question of law and fact.(Khunaverdiants v. Mukasey, 11/18/08)
CA6 Upholds Negative Credibility Finding Based on Blatant Overstatement
The court noted that the failure to include every detail in an asylum application should not be fatal to an asylum claim, but held that blatant overstatement of the dangers in the Ivory Coast was sufficient to support a negative credibility determination. (Kaba v. Mukasey, 11/13/08)
CA2 Vacates Adverse Credibility and Persecutor Bar in Russian Claim
The court could not determine the basis for the adverse credibility determination and remanded. The court also held that substantial evidence did not support the persecutor bar. (Balachova v. Mukasey, 11/12/08)
CA10 Finds AG’s Interpretation of Statue to Allow Indefinite Detention Reasonable
CA10 vacates the habeas grant and remands, giving deference tothe AG’s reading of 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(6) as authorizing detention beyond 90 days of limited classes of aliens, notwithstanding the Supreme Court’s earlier contrary interpretation. ((Hernandez-Carrera v. Carlson, 11/12/08)
CA9 Remands for Habeas Review of Citizenship Claim Prior to Final Order of Removal
The court reverses the district court’s dismissal for lack of jurisdiction and remands, finding that the petitioner does not have to wait until a final removal order is issued before he can secure habeas review of his citizenship claim. (Flores-Torres v. Mukasey, 11/10/08)
AG Establishes Framework to Determine whether Conviction is CIMT
The Attorney General established analytical framework for deciding if a conviction is a CIMT, using the categorical approach, and if the inquiry remains unresolved, examines the record of conviction and then if necessary, additional evidence. Matter of Silva-Trevino, 24 I&N Dec. 687 (AG 2008)
CA10 Upholds MTR Asylum Denial Based on Change in Personal Circumstances
CA10 upheld the BIA finding of failure to present new evidence of changed conditions in China re coercive population control measures. It also held that a change in personal circumstances, a fourth pregnancy, could not support an untimely motion to reopen. (Wei v. Mukasey, 11/7/08)
AILA Liaison/NBC Q&As (11/06/08)
On 11/6/2008, NBC answered questions on the following issues:I-765 adjudication in proceedings; proof of admission by SAW applicants; change of address; lockbox issues with I-765s for individuals granted TPS in proceedings; and I-864 RFEs. AILA Doc. No. 09010665.
CA2 Finds Connecticut First Degree Larceny Is a CIMT
The court held that Connecticut first degree larceny for “defrauding a public community,” is a crime involving moral turpitude. (Mendez v. Mukasey, 11/6/08)
BIA Finds Asylum Filing Window Begins Upon Arrival from Most Recent Trip Abroad
The BIA held that for calculating the time between the arrival in the U.S. and the date when an asylum application was filed, the term “last arrival” should be interpreted literally to mean the alien’s most recent arrival from a trip abroad. Matter of F-P-R-, 24 I&N Dec. 681 (BIA 2008)
CA11 Denies Asylum to Eritrean Army Deserter Based on Lack of Credibility
The court held that the record did not compel a finding of past persecution because substantial evidence supported the IJ’s and BIA’s adverse credibility finding. (Mohammed v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 11/5/08)