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
CA5 Remands Case Involving False Claim to U.S. Citizenship to Gain Admission to University
CA5 remanded to the BIA for reconsideration, in light of Theodros v. Gonzales, of whether falsely claiming U.S. citizenship in order to gain admission to a private university’s part-time program is a bar to admissibility under INA §212(a)(6)(C)(ii). (Ismail v. Gonzales, 8/16/07)
BIA Discusses Element of “Approvable When Filed” Standard
The BIA held that to establish eligibility for 245(i) based on a marriage-based visa petition, one must prove that the marriage was bona fide at its inception in order to show that the visa petition was “meritorious in fact”. Matter of Jara Riero and Jara Espinol, 24 I&N Dec. 267 (BIA 2007)
CA9 Finds Cambodian Prison Guard Not Subject to Persecutor Bar to Asylum
The court found that a Cambodian prison guard, who unlocked doors to prisoners’ cells based on instructions from superiors and led them back to their cells after interrogations, was not subject to the persecutor bar to asylum and withholding. (Im v. Gonzales, 8/13/07)
CA9 Finds IJ Erred in Denying Asylum as a Matter of Discretion
The court found that Petitioner’s use of false documents in fleeing Iraq was not a proper reason for a discretionary denial of asylum. The court also found that Petitioner presented clear reasons for not applying for asylum in 3 other countries. (Gulla v. Gonzales, 8/13/07)
CA2 Asks BIA for Position on Forced IUD Insertion
The court remanded for the BIA to articulate its position concerning whether, and under what conditions, forced insertion of an IUD constitutes persecution. (Zheng v. Gonzales, 8/10/07)
DHS Announces Series of Reforms on Border Security and Immigration
On 08/10/07, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez announced a series of reforms the Administration will pursue to address border security and immigration challenges.
CA9 Finds IIRAIRA’s Repeal of Suspension of Deportation Impermissibly Retroactive
CA9 used an objective reliance test to hold that one who had been convicted of a potentially deportable offense would reasonably have relied on suspension when she applied for naturalization. Thus its repeal was impermissibly retroactive as to her. (Hernandez De Anderson v. Gonzales, 8/9/07)
CA9 Finds IJ Should Consider Asylum Claim from Small Child’s Perspective
The court found that the IJ erred in not looking at the events from the perspective of Petitioners who were children at the time of the past harm. (Hernandez-Ortiz v. Gonzales, 8/8/07)
CA11 Upholds Matter of S-L-L-; Rejects Unmarried Father’s Asylum Claim
The court concluded that the BIA’s decision in Matter of S-L-L-, to deny derivative protection to unmarried fathers of aborted children, is not unreasonable. (Yang v. Gonzales, 8/8/07)
EOIR Fact Sheet on Unaccompanied Children in Proceedings
An 8/8/07 EOIR Fact Sheet on unaccompanied children in removal proceedings addresses training and guidelines for immigration judges, juvenile dockets, legal representation and the EOIR Legal Orientation Program.
CA8 Rejects Asylum Claim of Blind Albino from Indonesia
The court found that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s finding that the harassment and economic deprivation suffered by Petitioner in Indonesia did not amount to past persecution. (Makatengkeng v. Gonzales, 8/3/07)
CA2 Finds No Jurisdiction to Review Discretionary Denial of Voluntary Departure
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the IJ’s discretionary and factual determinations underlying the denial of Petitioner’s application for voluntary departure. (Carcamo v. DOJ, 8/2/07)
CA4 Finds Exclusive District Court Jurisdiction Over Natz Applications Under INA §336(b)
CA4 held that the timely filing for a district court hearing on a naturalization application under INA §336(b) vests the district court with exclusive jurisdiction and deprives USCIS of jurisdiction unless instructed to do so by the court. (Etape v. Chertoff, 8/2/07)
BIA Finds that MTRs Carry Heavy Burden to Show "Changed Circumstances"
The BIA held that respondent did not meet the heavy burden to show that her proffered evidence is material and reflects “changed circumstances arising in the country of nationality” regarding Chinese birth planning policies. Matter of S-Y-G-, 24 I&N Dec. 247 (BIA 2007)
Section-by-Section analysis of the Immigration Enforcement and Border Security Act of 2007
Section-by-section analysis of the Immigration Enforcement and Border Security Act of 2007 (S. 1984) as introduced by Sen. Kyl (R-AZ) on 8/2/07.
Text of the Immigration Enforcement and Border Security Act of 2007
Text of the Immigration Enforcement and Border Security Act of 2007 (S.1984) as introduced by Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) on 8/2/07. This bill aims to increase border security and immigration enforcement through a series of border control, interior enforcement and worksite enforcement provisions.
Immigration Law Advisor, July 2007 (Vol. 1, No. 7)
Immigration Law Advisor with an article on circuit court decisions in Chinese coercive population control cases, federal court activity for June 2007, an article on Colombian asylum cases, update on recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
CA2 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review BIA’s Discretionary Denial of Cancellation of Removal
The court dismissed the petition for review, concluding that it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA’s discretionary and factual determinations underlying the denial of the petitioner’s application for cancellation of removal under INA §240A(a). (Barco-Sandoval v. Gonzales, 8/1/07)
CA2 Remands for Clarification of Asylum Frivolousness Guidelines
The court vacated the findings of frivolousness and remanded to allow the BIA to interpret and apply the relevant statutes and regulations governing frivolousness under the BIA's standards in Matter of Y-L-. (Yang v. Gonzales, 7/31/07)
CA1 Says Filing of Motion to Reopen Does Not Stay Voluntary Departure
The court held that the timely filing of a motion to reopen does not toll the voluntary departure period, and that the granting of a motion to reopen does not “retroactively nullify” the prior violation of a voluntary departure order. (Chedad v. Gonzales, 7/31/07)
CA7 Finds Economic Harm Did Not Amount to Persecution in One-Child Claim
The court found that the damage to Petitioner’s home was insufficient to show economic persecution. The court noted that Petitioner maintained employment, registered his son without paying a fine, and his two children attended public school. (Zhang v. Gonzales, 7/31/07)
CA7 Finds Detention and Beatings in Cameroon Amount to Persecution/Torture
CA7 held that Petitioner established that she suffered persecution on account of her political opinions, having suffered two severe beatings after voicing her opposition to the government. It held that the beatings constituted torture for CAT relief. (Tchemkou v. Gonzales, 7/31/07)
AILA Comment on EOIR's Notice on Codes of Conduct for Immigration Judges and BIA Members
AILA’s comment prepared by Holly Cooper, Maile Hirota, Linda Kenepaske, and Steve Morley in response to the EOIR Notice on Codes of Conduct for Immigration Judges and BIA members.
CA2 Expands on “Question of Law” Under INA §242(a)(2)(D)
The court held that a question of law under INA §242(a)(2)(D) includes claims that the IJ applied an erroneous legal standard in making a discretionary determination and that the IJ based his decision on a misstatement of record facts. (Khan v. Gonzales, 7/26/07)
Senate Rejects Graham Immigration Enforcement Amendment
On 7/25/07, thanks in part to the swift action of AILA advocates, the Senate rejected a harsh immigration enforcement amendment proposed by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act (S. 1644/H.R. 2638).