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
AILF Legal Action Center Advisory on 28(j) Letters
AILF's Legal Action Center issued an advisory on "28(j)" letters reportedly received by some AILA members following the Attorney General's request that the BIA refer to him for review three cases involving Lozada standards with respect to ineffective assistance to counsel.
AILA Commends House Judiciary Committee For “Mark-Up” Of Four Immigration-Related Bills
AILA commends Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-MI), Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Chair of the House Immigration Subcommittee, for pressing forward in a toxic political environment to “mark up” four important immigration-related bills.
BIA Addresses Meaning of “to Reside Permanently” Under Former Section 321(a) of the INA
The BIA held that respondent did not satisfy former section 321(a) of the Act to obtain derivative citizenship because he did not acquire LPR status before he reached 18 years of age. Matter of Nwozuzu, 24 I&N Dec. 609 (BIA 2008)
AILA’s Comment to EOIR’s Practice Manual
AILA’s comment to EOIR’s Practice Manual, which went into effect on 7/1/08, stating that while AILA appreciates all the work that went into creating the Manual and EOIR's responsiveness, there are still concerns and suggestions for future updates and additions to the Manual.
IJ Grants Asylum to Children of a Particular Family Who Where Physically Abandoned
IJ finds that Honduran children merit a grant of asylum on humanitarian grounds with the social group defined as members of a particular family who were physically abandoned by their parents. Courtesy of David Sperling.
TRAC Report on Implementation of Improvement Measures for BIA & Immigration Courts
TRAC released a report on the implementation status of former Attorney General Gonzales’s 22 Measures to Improve the Immigration Courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals.
DOJ Progress Overview on EOIR Improvement Measures
On 8/28/08 DOJ released a fact sheet summarizing EOIR's progress implementing the 22 Measures to Improve the Immigration Courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals, which were outlined in 2006 by former Attorney General Gonzales.
CA9 Rejects Social Group Claim in Salvadoran Gang-Related Asylum Claim
The court upheld BIA’s finding that Petitioner’s fear based on family membership was not well-founded. It also upheld the BIA’s rejection of “young [men] in El Salvador resisting gang violence” as a social group due to lack of particularity and visibility. (Santos-Lemus v. Mukasey, 9/8/08)
BIA Finds Spouse of Cuban LPR Eligible for Relief
In an unpublished decision, the BIA held that as the spouse of an LPR who adjusted under the Cuban Adjustment Act, the respondent was eligible to adjust. Courtesy of Sofia Zneimer.
CA6 Reverses Adverse Credibility Finding for Relying on AO’s Assessment
The court held that the substantial evidence did not support the BIA’s adverse credibility finding because it was based on an Asylum Officer’s (AO’s) Assessment to Refer which lacked standard indicia of reliability. (Koulibaly v. Mukasey, 9/4/08)
CBP Memo on the Exercise of Discretionary Authority
CBP 9/3/08 memo on the use of discretionary measures for individuals who are inadmissible due to minor or technical violations, including the use of waivers and parole processes where appropriate. Memo includes discretionary authority checklist. Received through American Immigration Council FOIA.
CA2 Finds APA Jurisdiction to Review LPR Rescission Claims
The court found that Petitioner’s complaint alleging that she was granted LPR status which was subsequently rescinded without mandatory procedures, stated two APA claims upon which relief could be granted. (Sharkey v. Quarantillo, 9/3/08)
CA11 Finds Rehabilitative Vacaturs were Effective to Remove Non-Controlled Substance Convictions in 1997
Unpublished decision. The court granted petition for review and remanded for a factual determination as to whether "omnopon" is a controlled substance. (X v. Attorney General, 9/3/08)
CA7 Addresses Res Judicata Following Statutory Change in Law Regarding Aggravated Felonies
The court held that res judicata did not bar proceedings based on the same sexual abuse of a minor conviction for which the petitioner was previously found not deportable because it would be inconsistent with IIRAIRA. (Alvear-Velez v. Mukasey, 9/2/08)
Immigration Law Today-Sept/Oct 2008
The Sept/Oct 2008 issue of Immigration Law Today focuses on litigation, legislation, and regulations, including how one's vote impacts immigration, representing transgender clients, and inside the forensic document laboratory.
Immigration Law Advisor, August 2008 (Vol. 2, No. 8)
Immigration Law Advisor with an article on motions for continuances and reopening requests, federal court activity for July 2008, BIA precedent decisions, a regulatory update, and an article on Prieto-Romero v. Clark and Casas-Castrillon v. DHS, and bond proceedings.
District Court Rules on Motions for Summary Judgment in FOIA Suit
Court granted in part and denied in part defendant federal agencies’ motions for summary judgment in case arising from FOIA requests by a foreign national placed in removal proceedings after his visa was administratively revoked. (El Badrawi v. DHS, 8/30/08)
BIA Addresses Release Under INA 236(c)(1)
The BIA held that “release” under INA 236(c)(1) includes release from a non-DHS custodial setting after the expiration of the TPCR, and does not support limiting the custodial setting to criminal custody related to the basis for detention. Matter of Saysana, 24 I&N Dec. 602 (BIA 2008)
Scialabba and Neufeld Memo on Inadmissibility Due to HIV Infection
On August 26, 2008, Lori Scialabba, Associate Director, Refugee, Asylum, and International Operations Directorate, and Donald Neufeld, Associate Director, Domestic Operations, USCIS, released a memo on inadmissibility due to HIV infection in light of the President's signing of H.R. 5501.
CA2 Addresses Seizure and Exclusion of Evidence under Lopez-Mendoza
The court concluded that the petitioners were not seized within the meaning of the fourth amendment, so it need not consider what role race played in the stop or whether it was sufficiently egregious to justify suppression. (Pinto-Montoya v. Mukasey, 8/26/08)
CA1 Finds BIA Erred in Finding Firm Resettlement
The court remanded the case to the BIA to determine the significance of an expired residence stamp in Petitioner’s passport, and whether it constituted an offer of permanent residence in a third country. (Bonilla v. Mukasey, 8/25/08)
Big Surprise - Operation Scheduled Departure a Bust
To the surprise of no one, ICE announced today that, due to lack of interest, it would not be continuing its “Operation Scheduled Departure," which asked people who had been subject to a final order of deportation to turn themselves in for removal.
CA3 Remands for Ineffective Assistance and Claim Based on New International Treaty
The court found that Petitioner sufficiently addressed the steps under Lozada to proceed with his ineffective assistance claim and remanded for the BIA to consider how U.S. law complies with the Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. (Rranci v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 8/22/08)
CA2 Refuses to Review Reinstatement Order
The court held that Garcia-Villeda forecloses a challenge to the reinstatement regulations and found that a collateral attack on a prior reinstatement order is statutorily barred. (Miller v. Mukasey, 8/21/08)
BIA Finds Parent’s Period of Residence Cannot be Imputed to Child
The BIA held that the period when the foreign national resided as an unemancipated minor child with his LPR father cannot be imputed in order to satisfy the seven-year residence requirement for cancellation of removal under INA §240A(a)(2). Matter of Ramirez-Vargas, 24 I&N Dec. 599 (BIA 2008)