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
CA9 Upholds Asylum Frivolousness Finding and Permanent Benefits Bar
In this decision, the court adopted the analytical framework for making frivolousness determinations in Matter of Y-L-. The court held that a remand was not necessary because all of the element of Y-L- were met. (Ahir v. Mukasey, 6/2/08)
Immigration Law Advisor, May 2008 (Vol. 2, No.5)
Immigration Law Advisor, an EOIR legal publication, with an article on continued detention review for specially dangerous individuals, federal court activity for April 2008, an article on sexual abuse and moral turpitude, AG/BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
ABA Journal Article on ICE Enforcement Tactics
A feature article in the June 2008 ABA Journal, “Illegal Aliens on ICE,” reviews challenges in the courts to ICE’s enforcement tactics.
CA3 Remands Colombian Social Group Asylum Claim
The court held that Petitioner established that she is a member of the social group of “women who have escaped involuntary servitude after being abducted and confined by the FARC” and showed a well-founded fear of persecution. (Gomez-Zuluaga v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 5/30/08)
CA2 Rejects Res Judicata Claim to Bar Second Removal Proceedings
The court held that res judicata did not bar new proceedings based on a robbery conviction when Petitioner's first proceedings were based on a firearms conviction because the second suit was based on a separate set of factual predicates. (Channer v. DHS, 5/30/08)
CA3 Finds Administrative Closure Does Not Re-Start Physical Presence for Suspension
The court held that the continuous physical presence clock did not begin anew upon administrative closure of Petitioner’s proceedings because such proceedings were temporarily removed from the IJ’s calendar, not terminated. (Arca-Pineda v. Att’y Gen of the U.S., 5/28/08)
CA3 Discusses “Concealing,” “Harboring,” and “Shielding” Under INA §274(a)(1)(A)(iii)
The court held that “concealing,” “harboring” and “shielding” under INA §274 encompass conduct tending to substantially facilitate an alien’s remaining in the U.S illegally. (U.S. v. Ozcelik, 5/27/08)
EOIR Issues Memo on the Board’s Standard/Scope of Review
Obtained via FOIA by Hoppock Law Firm, EOIR released a memo on the Board’s standard/scope of review. Special thanks to Matthew Hoppock.
CA9 Holds Oregon Identity Theft is Not Categorically an Aggravated Felony Theft Offense
The court held that a conviction for identity theft in violation of Oregon law is not categorically an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(G) because the statute punishes conduct that goes beyond the scope of a generic theft offense. (Mandujano-Real v. Mukasey, 5/22/08)
CA9 Finds Jurisdiction to Review IJ’s Denial of Motion to Continue
The court held that INA §242(a)(2)(B)(ii) does not strip jurisdiction over challenges to an IJ’s denial of a continuance because that authority is not “specified under [the relevant] subchapter to be in the discretion of the Attorney General....” (Sandoval-Luna v. Mukasey, 5/22/08)
CA1 Finds Threats Can Amount to Persecution in Cambodian Withholding Claim
In a Cambodian withholding case, the court found that credible threats can amount to persecution, especially when the assailant threatened the applicant with death, in person, and with a weapon. (Sok v. Mukasey, 5/22/08)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Asylum Based on Lack of Past Persecution and Nexus
The court found that the BIA’s emphasis on the lack of physical harm was appropriate, and that it was significant that the threats were not connected to a protected ground. (Restrepo Ruiz v. Mukasey, 5/21/08)
CA7 Finds Illinois Domestic Battery is an Aggravated Felony Crime of Violence
The court held that a conviction for domestic battery, in violation of 720 ILCS 5/12-3.2(a)(1) is a crime of violence under 18 USC §16(a) and is therefore an aggravated felony as defined by INA §101(a)(43)(F). (LaGuerre v. Mukasey, 5/20/08)
AILA Commends Congressional Hearing on Devastating Impact of Workforce Raids
AILA expresses appreciation to the leadership shown by the House Workforce Protections Subcommittee for holding a hearing on the impact of immigration raids, which helped shine a long overdue light on the harsh consequences these raids visit upon American children, families, and communities.
BIA Finds Fourth Degree Assault Conviction Is Not a “Crime of Child Abuse”
The BIA held that a WA fourth degree assault conviction is not a “crime of child abuse” under INA §237(a)(2)(E)(i), and concludes that removability on the basis of "a crime of child abuse" is determined by the elements of the offense. Matter of Velasquez-Herrera, 24 I&N Dec. 503 (BIA 2008)
CA4 Holds Ineffective Assistance Not a 5th Amendment Due Process Violation
CA4 held that counsel’s ineffectiveness in a removal proceeding cannot deprive a person of his 5th Amendment right to a fair hearing, reasoning that counsel was not a state actor and there was insufficient nexus between the federal government and counsel. (Afanwi v. Mukasey, 5/19/08)
Supreme Court Opens Door to Tougher Sentences for Career Criminals
The Court held that for purposes of sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act, a court charged with determining whether a prior drug offense is “serious” under ACCA §924(e)(2)(A) may consider recidivist sentencing enhancements for repeat offenders. (United States v. Rodriquez, 5/19/08)
Representative Braley Seeks More Information on DOL/ICE Coordination in Postville Raid
In May, Representative Braley (D-IA) sent letters to the DOJ, DOL and DHS requesting information about a possible investigation into labor practices at Agriprocessors facility in Postville, Iowa. On 07/17/08, Braley issued a follow-up letter.
Senator Kennedy Letter to DHS Secretary Chertoff and HHS Secretary Leavitt on ICE Raids
A 5/16/08 letter from Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) to DHS and HHS Secretaries urging them to adopt an interagency agreement and issue guidelines to reduce impact of ICE enforcement actions on children participating in Head Start and other federally-assisted child development programs.
CA9 Finds AZ Attempted Public Sexual Indecency to a Minor is Not Categorically an Aggravated Felony
The court held that Petitioner’s conviction for attempted public sexual indecency to a minor under Arizona law did not constitute attempted sexual abuse of a minor under INA §101(a)(43)(A) and (U) under either the categorical or the modified categorical approach. (Rebilas v. Mukasey, 5/16/08)
A Compromised Judiciary
In a troubling turn of events, it appears that the Federal judiciary has become complicit in an effort to deprive employees of an Iowa meat packing plant of their basic rights. AILA calls upon the court system and DOJ and DHS to restore due process and maintain the presumption of innocence.
EOIR Announces Release of Legal Orientation Program Evaluation Report
A 5/15/08 EOIR News Release summarizes the findings of a Vera Institute of Justice report on the impact and benefits of EOIR’s Legal Orientation Program.
Sign-On Letter On Provisions of Medical Care to Immigration Detainees
A sign-on letter from 18 civil rights, religious, and advocacy organizations to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff expressing concern over the provision of medical care to immigration detainees.
On the Hot Seat Over Detainee Medical Care, ICE Responds
Following the introduction of legislation on detainee medical care, and media exposés on substandard medical care for detainees, ICE responds.
AG Overrules BIA Holdings on Refugee Status for Spouse in Forced Abortion/Sterilization Cases
The Attorney General, in In re Matter of Jianzhong Shi, overruled two precedent, en banc BIA decisions on entitlement to per se refugee status for the spouses of individuals physically subjected to a forced abortion or sterilization procedure.