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 Rejects Polygraph Results and Medical Exam in MTR Indian Asylum Claim
CA9 held that polygraph evidence is not evidence that was previously unavailable within the meaning of 8 CFR §1003.2(c). The court also refused to consider a medical report regarding Petitioner’s scars for the same reason. (Goel v. Gonzales, 6/14/07)
CA2 on “Lawfully Admitted for Permanent Residence” in §212(c) Context
The court held that a person who obtains lawful permanent resident status by fraud or mistake has not been “lawfully admitted for permanent residence” for purposes of relief under former INA §212(c). (De La Rosa v. DHS, 6/13/07)
CA4 Finds Withholding Claim Cannot Be Based on Psychological Harm Alone
The court held that a withholding claim cannot rely solely on psychological harm, but must establish injury or a threat of injury to the applicant’s person or freedom. (Niang v. Gonzales, 6/12/07)
CA9 Rejects Negative Inference without Credibility Finding in Asylum Claim
The court found the IJ erred in relying on the negative inference drawn from Petitioner’s refusal to allow access to his Canadian immigration file. The court held that the IJ failed to make an express credibility determination, or to analyze Petitioner’s claim. (Singh v. Gonzales, 6/12/07)
CA7 Remands Chinese Claim for Ruling on Severity of Economic Sanctions
The court noted that the BIA is entitled to respond to normal country conditions but remanded the case for consideration of the financial penalties used when couples have two or more children and whether those amount to force. (Chen v. Gonzales, 6/11/07)
ICE Agent Affidavit in Support of Complaint Against Defendant Arrested Prior to Action Rags Raid
This document is an ICE Special Agent affidavit in support of a criminal complaint filed against an individual arrested prior to the Action Rags factory raid in Houston.
BIA Finds Parent with Two Chinese-Born Children May Qualify as a Refugee
The BIA held that a person who fathers or gives birth to two or more children in China may qualify as a refugee if established that the births are a violation of family planning policies that would give rise to a well-founded fear of persecution. Matter of J-H-S-, 24 I&N Dec. 196 (BIA 2007)
BIA Finds No Well-founded Fear for Chinese Parent with Second Child
The BIA held that the evidence did not demonstrate the Chinese has a national policy of requiring forced sterilization of a parent who returns with a second child born abroad or that local sanctions would rise to the level of persecution. Matter of J-W-S-, 24 I&N Dec. 185 (BIA 2007)
CA2 Says INA §240A Precludes Cancellation of Removal for Those Granted INA §212(c) Relief
The court held that the plain language of INA §240A(a)(3) precludes a noncitizen with an aggravated felony conviction from receiving cancellation of removal, and that INA §240A(c)(6) bars simultaneous relief under both INA §212(c) and INA §240A. (Peralta-Traveras v. Attorney General, 6/6/07)
District Court Issues Amended Order in Proyecto San Pablo v. INS
On June 6, 2007, the District Court for the District of Arizona issued an amended order in the Proyecto San Pablo v. INS case.
CA11 Finds No Nexus in Asylum Claim of Colombian Dentist
The court held that the record supported the conclusion that Petitioner was threatened for his refusal to provide dental services, which lacks a nexus between political opinion and persecution. (Rodriguez-Morales v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 6/6/07)
CA9 Finds Forced Abortion is Broad Concept; Does Not Require Physical Force
The court held that Petitioner suffered persecution where his wife was forced by her employer to abort her pregnancy, and she cried during the abortion that was performed without anesthesia. The court held he also qualified for withholding. (Tang v. Gonzales, 6/6/07)
CA2 Upholds Negative Credibility Due to Similar I-589 in Different Case
The court held that an IJ may consider “inter-proceeding” similarities in asylum applications in making a credibility determination and found that the IJ was reasonable in relying on these similarities because of his rigorous approach. (Ye v. Gonzales, 6/6/07)
CA5 Remands for BIA Consideration of Nunc Pro Tunc §212(c) Relief
CA5 found reasonable the determination of the length of Petitioner’s term of imprisonment by using the date of the BIA’s second denial following reopening of the case, but remanded for consideration of the request for nunc pro tunc §212(c) relief. (Romero-Rodriguez v. Gonzales, 6/4/07)
CA9 Dismisses Habeas Challenge to Length of Detention as Moot
Petitioner’s habeas claim which challenged only the length of his detention and did not raise any issues with respect to the lawfulness of the deportation order, was rendered moot upon his removal from the United States. (Abdala v. INS, 6/4/07)
CA2 Overturns Blake, Remands for CIMT Determination
The court held that the BIA erred in focusing on the grounds of deportation, rather than the particular offenses, to determine §212(c) eligibility. (Blake v. Carbone, 6/1/07)
Immigration Law Advisor, May 2007 (Vol. 1, No. 5)
Immigration Law Advisor with an article on the treatment of multiple state possession offenses in light of Lopez, court activity for April 2007, update on recent BIA precedent decisions, a legislative commentary on how CIR could impact immigration courts and the BIA, and a regulatory update.
BIA Holds Presence Accrues During Application for Cancellation of Removal
The BIA held that an application for special rule cancellation of removal is a continuing one, so an applicant can continue to accrue physical presence until the issuance of a final administrative decision. Matter of Garcia, 24 I&N Dec. 179 (BIA 2007)
CA5 Holds Hardship Waiver Under INA §216(c)(4)(A) Does Not Require Good Faith Marriage
The plain language of INA §216(c)(4)(A) indicates that an extreme hardship waiver of the joint filing requirement to remove the conditions on permanent resident status does not also require a showing of a good faith marriage. (Waggoner v. Gonzales, 5/30/07)
CA4 Overturns IJ’s Denial in Chinese One-Child Claim on Issue of Past Harm
CA4 found that the IJ did not make an adverse credibility finding regarding Petitioner’s evidence of his wife’s forced abortion, and thus a determination that his lack of credibility re is own fear of sterilization does not defeat his asylum claim. (Lin-Jian v. Gonzales, 5/30/07)
CA9 Discusses “Paying Down” the Loss to the Victims of a Fraud Offense
The court held that Petitioner, who repaid the stolen money to her victims only after her fraudulent scheme was discovered, cannot “pay down” the victims' loss below the $10,000 threshold so that her offense no longer qualifies as an aggravated felony. (Kharana v. Gonzales, 5/29/07)
CA9 Holds Smuggling Continues Until the Smuggler Ceases to Transport Individuals
CA9 held that smuggling under INA §212(a)(6)(E)(i) continues until the transporter ceases to carry the individuals, and found that Petitioner knowingly aided and abetted the smuggling, thus preventing good moral character for suspension of deportation. (Covarrubias v. Gonzales, 5/29/07)
CA9 Says Exclusion Order and Removal Interrupt Continuous Physical Presence
The court held that the accrual of Petitioner’s continuous physical presence for purposes of cancellation of removal was terminated when he was ordered excluded and removed from the United States. (Landin-Zavala v. Gonzales, 5/25/07)
CA11 Overturns IJ and Finds Ukrainian Azerbajani Suffered Past Persecution
The court found that it was clear that the protests, beatings, arrests, searches, interrogations, imprisonments and death threats amounted to persecution. The court found that the IJ erred in focusing on the lack of corroboration. (Niftaliev v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 5/25/07)
CA11 Finds Applicants Suffered Past Persecution; No Withholding for Spouse
CA11 concluded that the cumulative effect of two attacks, continuing threatening phone calls, and vandalism to a car amounted to past persecution, but that under withholding there are no derivative benefits for spouses, unlike for asylum grantees. (Delgado v. U.S. Atty. Gen., 5/25/07)