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
CA1 Finds No Due Process Violation; Upholds Negative Credibility Finding
The court held that the BIA did not err in remanding Petitioner’s case to the same IJ where there was no allegation of misconduct, and found nothing improper about the IJ’s conduct at the second hearing. (Yosd v. Mukasey, 1/29/08)
CA7 Disagrees with BIA on Multiple Simple Possession Convictions
The court disagreed with the BIA in Matter of Carachuri-Rosendo. Had Plaintiff been prosecuted under federal law, he would have been treated as a felon by 21 USC §844(a) and was therefore, convicted of an aggravated felony. (United States v. Pacheco-Diaz, 1/29/08)
AILF/AILA Comment on EOIR's Proposed Rule to Amend Voluntary Departure Regulations
AILF and AILA submitted comments to EOIR's proposed rule on voluntary departure. The proposed rule provides that the filing of a motion to reopen or reconsider of a petition for review automatically terminates the grant of voluntary departure.
Human Rights First Memo on Amendments to “Terrorism Bars” and Related Waivers Under the INA
Human Rights First prepared this memo addressing amendments to the INA regarding terrorism inadmissibility grounds and DHS’s discretion to issue waivers. Thank you to Human Rights First for providing this memo.
CA2 on §245(i) and Chinese Student Protection Act
The court found reasonable the BIA’s holding that INA §245(i) does not provide an avenue for renewing or amending a Chinese Student Protection Act adjustment application that was previously denied because the applicant EWIed. (Lin v. BCIS, 1/28/08)
CA5 Says No “Dangerousness” Exception to Zadvydas’ Indefinite Detention Bar for Mentally Ill
CA5 held that INA §241(a)(6), as construed by Zadvydas, does not authorize potentially indefinite detention of a removable alien based on a determination by the government that the alien’s mental illness renders him a dangerous risk to the community. (Tran v. Mukasey, 1/28/08)
CA11 Finds BIA Abuse of Discretion for Failure to Follow Precedent in Denying In Absentia Motion
The BIA’s failure to follow its own precedent or offer a reasoned explanation for failing to do so when ruling on Petitioner’s motion to reopen was an abuse of discretion. (Cisneros v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 1/28/08)
CA9 Finds Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Without Strict Adherence to Lozada
CA9 held that where an attorney was suspended after failing to respond to prior charges, failure to inform counsel of the accusations or file a complaint as required by Lozada would be futile and does not bar an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. (Apolinar v. Mukasey, 1/24/08)
CA7 Reaffirms Valere and the §212(c) “Comparable Grounds” Test
CA7 reaffirmed its holding in Valere v. Gonzales that removability for an aggravated felony involving sexual abuse of a minor is not waiveable under former INA §212(c) because there is no comparable ground of inadmissibility under INA §212(a). (Zamora-Mallari v. Mukasey, 1/24/08)
CA2 Upholds IJ’s Negative Credibility Finding Based on False Document
The court found that the IJ’s determination that Petitioner’s Pakistani Peoples Party card was invalid was a proper basis for discrediting his testimony. (Zaman v. Mukasey, 1/23/08)
CA9 Holds Forgery Under Cal. Penal Code §475(c) is Not Categorically an Aggravated Felony
The court held that Cal. Penal Code §475(c) encompasses conduct involving real, unaltered documents and is therefore not categorically an offense “relating to…forgery” under INA §101(a)(43)(R). (Vizcarra-Ayala v. Mukasey, 1/23/08)
Tacoma Immigration Court to Operate Independently from Seattle
On 1/22/08 EOIR announced that the Tacoma Immigration Court will begin operations as a court separate from the Seattle Immigration Court in late January. The change will affect detainees at the Northwest Detention Center.
CA9 Holds Fourth Degree Assault Under WA Law is not Categorically a Crime of Violence
The court held that a conviction for fourth degree assault in violation of Wash. Rev. Code §9A.36.041 is not categorically an aggravated felony “crime of violence” under INA §101(a)(43)(F). (Perez v. Mukasey, 1/22/08)
CA11 Rejects Togolese Asylum Claim Based on Brief Detention
The court sua sponte vacated its earlier decision, making no substantive changes. The court upheld the BIA’s finding that Petitioner failed to establish that his 36-hour detention amounted to past persecution. (Djonda v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 1/22/08)
CA11 Holds Georgia Simple Battery is an Aggravated Felony “Crime of Violence”
The court held that a conviction for simple battery in violation of Ga. Code Ann. §16-5-23(a)(2), which criminalizes the act of intentionally causing physical harm to another, is an aggravated felony. (Hernandez v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 1/18/08)
CA11 Finds Persecutor Bar Applies to Guard at Forced Abortion Facility
The court held that the standard for determining whether an applicant is ineligible for asylum and withholding due to assistance or participation in persecution is whether his or her conduct was active, direct and integral to the underlying persecution. (Chen v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 1/17/08)
BIA Finds “Theft Offense” Not Within the Definition of Aggravated Felony
The BIA held that the respondent’s welfare fraud offense is not a “theft offense” within the INA’s definition of an aggravated felony. Matter of Garcia-Madruga, 24 I&N Dec. 436 (BIA 2008)
CA11 Upholds Regulation Governing Jurisdiction Over Adjustment for Arriving Aliens
The court held that 8 CFR §1245.2(a)(1), which gives USCIS jurisdiction over most adjustment of status applications by arriving aliens in removal proceedings, is a valid interpretation of INA §245(a). (Scheerer v. Chertoff, 1/15/08)
CA9 Amends Kalouma Decision re: Proof of Identity in Asylum Claims
In response to a petition for rehearing by the government, the court amended its 08/28/07 decision (AILA Doc. No. 07101260) with a few additional paragraphs of analysis. The court rejected the government’s reliance on Farah v. Ashcroft. (Kalouma v. Gonzales, 1/15/08)
CA9 Holds CA Hit and Run Statute is Not Categorically a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude
The court held that a violation of Cal. Vehicle Code §20001(a), leaving the scene of an accident resulting in bodily injury or death, is not categorically a crime involving moral turpitude. (Cerezo v. Mukasey, 1/14/08)
CA7 Finds IJ “Cared Little about the Evidence” in Nigerian CAT Claim
The court found that the flaws in the IJ’s reasoning made it question the fairness of the hearing, and that the IJ failed to consider rebuttal evidence regarding whether Petitioner’s crimes were aggravated felonies. (Bosede v. Mukasey, 1/14/08)
ICE Releases Family Residential Detention Standards
ICE posted family residential detention standards on its website. AILA Doc. No. 08011464.
CA11 Finds “Courage Does Not Negate Fear” in Colombian Asylum Claim
The court vacated the IJ’s finding that Petitioner, a Colombian lawyer, failed to show a well-founded fear. The court found that she had shown past persecution and was entitled to a rebuttable presumption. (Santamaria v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 1/11/08)
IJ’s Decision Must Contain Explicit Order of Removal When Withholding Granted Without Asylum
The BIA held that when an IJ issues a decision granting an alien’s application for withholding of removal, without a grant of asylum, the decision must include an explicit order of removal. Matter of I-S- & C-S-, 24 I&N Dec. 432 (BIA 2008)
ICE Memo: Involuntary Sedation of Immigration Detainees
This January 9, 2008, ICE memo requires a federal district court order before the Division of Immigration Health Services can administer involuntary sedation to individuals subject to deportation.