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 IJ Erred in Relying on Restitution Order in Analysis of Crime
The court held that the IJ improperly relied on a restitution order in finding Petitioner’s fraud conviction was an aggravated felony but properly concluded that making false statements to acquire a firearm is a removable offense. (Dulal-Whiteway v. DHS, 9/19/07)
CA9 Discusses Aggravated Felony Fraud Provisions in the Context of Federal Tax Crimes
The court held that subscribing to a false statement on, and aiding in the preparation of, a tax return in violation of 26 USC §7206(1) and (2) are aggravated felonies, where the loss to the government exceeds $10,000. (Kawashima v. Gonzales, 9/18/07)
CA3 Finds Fabrication in Time-Barred Asylum Application Was Not “Material”
The court held that because the asylum application was time-barred, the falsehood had neither the natural tendency, nor the capability of influencing the decision of the IJ or the BIA. (Luciana v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 9/17/07)
CA1 on Due Process and the 1-Year Asylum Deadline
The court joined its sister circuits in holding that the bar to judicial review of a determination that an asylum application was not timely filed does not violate due process. (Hana v. Gonzales, 9/17/07)
CA1 Finds Fleuti Doctrine Irrelevant to Admission of Returning LPRs
The court held that the Fleuti doctrine, that permitted “innocent, brief and casual” departures for LPRs, was abrogated by IIRIRA which created the concept of “admission” and set forth new criteria for returning LPRs. (Perez de Vega v. Gonzales, 9/17/07)
CA7 Finds IJ/BIA Failed to Address Critical Evidence in W/H & CAT Claim
The court upheld the IJ’s finding that a Yemeni citizen did not suffer past persecution, but found that evidence on well-founded fear was overlooked, including testimony, DOS reports, and a letter from the Yemeni Human Rights Watch. (Binrashed v. Gonzales, 9/14/07)
CA7 Finds No Jurisdiction to Review the IJ’s Continuance Denial
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the IJ’s discretionary denial of Petitioner’s continuance. The IJ’s authority over continuances is derived from INA §240(a)(1), which confers plenary authority on IJs to conduct removal proceedings. (Ali v. Gonzales, 9/14/07)
CA7 Finds BIA Erred in Relying on Airport Interview to Deny Asylum Claim
The court noted that airport interviews are not always reliable for credibility, holding that the BIA erred in finding that Petitioner’s claim became markedly more “egregious” because he failed to mention his homosexuality in his credible fear interviews. (Moab v. Gonzales, 9/13/07)
CA2 Remands to BIA to Give Effect to JRAD
The court held that a JRAD protects from removal based on charges under IIRAIRA’s expanded aggravated felony definition because Congress placed no JRAD limit on the retroactivity of the expanded definition. (Nguyen v. Chertoff, 9/13/07)
CA9 Finds Arizona Aggravated DUI a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude
A violation of Arizona Revised Statutes §28-1381(A)(1), driving under the influence aggravated by operating a vehicle without a valid license, is a crime involving moral turpitude. (Marmolejo-Campos v. Gonzales, 9/12/07)
CA2 Upholds Matter of J-E-, Finds Haitian Prison Conditions Not Torture
The court held that the failure to maintain standards of diet, hygiene, and living space in prison does not constitute torture unless conditions are sufficiently extreme and intentionally inflicted. (Pierre v. Gonzales, 9/11/07)
CA2 Upholds Matter of Smriko, Finds Refugees May Be Removed
The court joined the Third and Ninth Circuits in finding no immunity from removal for refugees. The court noted that even if Petitioner had retained refugee status after adjustment he would be subject to removal for drug trafficking. (Maiwand v. Gonzales, 9/11/07)
AILA Chapter Raid Preparation Plan
Program for chapters to put in place to plan for responding to mass workplace enforcement actions by ICE and other law enforcement agencies before they happen.
Isn't Lady Justice Still Blind?
AILA President Kathleen Campbell Walker states support for those who engaged in educating immigrants on their legal rights, and criticizes an ICE spokesperson's reported statement "encouraging" organizations that provide this information to stop doing so.
CA7 Holds Government Responsible for Ensuring Delivery of Hearing Notice
The court held that Petitioner did not “thwart delivery” of his hearing notice by failing to inform INS that mail must be addressed “in care of” his brother-in-law with whom he was staying.(Peralta-Cabrera v. Gonzales, 9/7/07)
CA7-Posner Issues Scathing Opinion Overturning Negative Credibility Finding
Judge Posner noted that an avalanche of asylum claims has placed unbearable pressures on a grossly understaffed system. In reversing the IJ’s negative credibility finding, he ruled that egregious failures by IJs could be understood but not excused. (Kadia v. Gonzales, 9/7/07)
CA3 Remands Honduran Gang Recruitment Case Due to Legal and Factual Errors
The court held that the IJ erred by requiring Petitioner to prove that the government refused to protect him rather than that the government was unable or unwilling to protect him. (Valdiezo-Galdamez v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 9/7/07)
CA3 Affords 30-Day Grace Period for Narrow Class Seeking Judicial Review Post-REAL ID
The court held that criminal deportees who received a final order of removal but did not file a habeas petition in district court before REAL ID’s effective date, are afforded a 30-day grace period—until June 11, 2005—to file a claim. (Kolkevich v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 9/6/07)
CA11 Finds Harm Suffered by Colombian Applicant Amounted to Persecution
CA11 held that the harm Petitioner suffered (threats and attempted attacks over an 18-month period that culminated in being stopped on the roadway and threatened at gunpoint by members of FARC who broke his nose) amounted to persecution as a matter of law. (Marin v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 9/6/07)
CA1 Says LPR Who Obtained Status by Fraud Is Ineligible for Cancellation
The court found that Petitioner, who failed to disclose an arrest on his adjustment of status application, was never “lawfully admitted for permanent residence” and was therefore ineligible for cancellation of removal. (Mejia-Orellana v. Gonzales, 9/6/07)
CA4 Strikes Down Regulation Barring Motions to Reopen Filed After A Person Is Removed
CA4 held that the regulation barring motions to reopen filed after a person departs or is removed is invalid because it conflicts with the motion to reopen statute. The BIA has jurisdiction to adjudicate a motion to reopen filed post-departure. (William v. Gonzales, 9/6/07)
Langlois Memo on Changes to NACARA Lesson Plan and Quality Assurance Review Categories
A 9/6/07 Memo from Joseph Langlois, USCIS Asylum Division Chief, revises the Asylum Officer Lesson Plan on suspension of deportation and cancellation of removal under NACARA. The memo also addresses changes to the categories of NACARA cases that must be submitted to HQ for quality assurance review.
AILA Chapters Workplace Raids Action Plan
AILA guide for chapters to respond during and after large-scale ICE enforcement activities.
2007 Resources for Responding to Large-Scale ICE Raids
Listing of resources, created in 2007, to assist in responding to workplace enforcement raids in your community.
BIA Holds Fear of FGM of Daughter Not Sufficient Basis for Asylum or Withholding
The BIA held that an alien may not establish eligibility for asylum or withholding of removal based solely on fear that his or her daughter will be harmed by being forced to undergo female genital mutilation upon returning to the alien’s home country. Matter of A-K, 24 I&N Dec. 275 (BIA 2007)