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
CA4 Holds Timely Motion to Reopen Does Not Automatically Toll Voluntary Departure
The court held that a timely motion to reopen does not automatically toll the voluntary departure period pending adjudication of the motion. (Dekoladenu v. Gonzales, 8/18/06)
USCIS and ICE Q&A on Procedures Implementing EOIR Regulations on Background and Security Checks
USCIS and ICE issued a Q&A regarding EOIR background check regulations for aliens seeking relief from removal.
USCIS and ICE Fact Sheet: Procedures Implementing EOIR Regulations on Background and Security Checks
USCIS/ICE fact sheet discussing procedures implemented on 4/1/05 in order to facilitate compliance with EOIR regulations prohibiting IJs and the BIA from granting relief from removal or protection benefits to an alien before DHS reports that the identity, background and security checks are complete.
CA2 Finds Jurisdiction to Stay BIA’s Order of Voluntary Departure
The court held that INA §242(a)(1) permits it to stay a BIA order of voluntary departure, and that a BIA order granting voluntary departure with an alternate order of removal is a final order subject to judicial review. (Thapa v. Gonzales, 8/16/06)
CA7 Holds “Grandfathered” Status under INA §245(i) Does Not Preclude Removal
The court held that “grandfathered” status under INA §245(i) did not preclude Petitioner from being removed when a visa number was unavailable. The court further held that INA §242(g) bars jurisdiction to review Petitioner’s equal protection challenge. (Hadayat v. Gonzales, 8/15/06)
CA1 Upholds IJ’s Finding of Changed Country Conditions in Albania
The court found that the IJ correctly afforded Petitioner a presumption of a well-founded fear based on past persecution, but that substantial evidence indicated that there had been a fundamental change in conditions in Albania. (Tota v. Gonzales, 8/14/06)
GAO Releases Study on EOIR’s Caseload Performance Reporting
The GAO study addresses the trend in immigration court caseloads, how cases are assigned and managed by the OCIJ, and how the EOIR/OCIJ evaluate the performance of immigration courts.
Attorney General Announces Measures Intended to Improve Immigration Courts and BIA
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales directs the implementation of 22 measures intended to improve the immigration courts and Board of Immigration Appeals, based on the recommendations of a review team assembled by the Deputy Attorney General and Associate Attorney General.
Attorney General Gonzales Outlines Reforms for Immigration Courts and BIA
AG Alberto Gonzales announced that DOJ will implement new measures to improve the Immigration Courts and BIA. The measures include performance evaluations, an immigration law exam, a proposal for the authority to sanction, budget increases, technological improvements and streamlining practices.
DOJ Press Release on Reforms Intended to Improve Immigration Courts and BIA
Press release from DOJ announcing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' directive to implement 22 measures intended to improve the immigration courts and Board of Immigration Appeals.
CA10 Holds VWP Entrant Has No Right to Contest Removal Through Adjustment of Status
The court held that a VWP entrant who overstays and files for adjustment of status before issuance of a removal order has waived his right to contest the removal order. (Ferry v. Gonzales, 8/8/06)
CA2 Holds Issue Exhaustion Is Not Required by INA §242(d)(1)
The court held that INA §242(d)(1) does not make issue exhaustion a statutory jurisdictional requirement and that failure to exhaust specific issues may be waived by the Attorney General. (Zhong v. DOJ, 8/8/06)
CA2 Finds Violation of Asylum Applicant’s Right to Confidentiality
The court held that the government violated 8 CFR §208.6 and rejected its post hoc rationale for the breach. The court also held that the adverse credibility finding, based on a consular report, was not supported by substantial evidence. (Lin v. Gonzales, 8/3/06)
CA1 on Burden of Showing Effect of Vacated Convictions
The court held that the BIA did not err in placing the burden on the petitioner to show that a conviction that was vacated after a final order of removal had been entered was vacated based on a procedural defect. (Rumierz v. Gonzales, 8/3/06)
CA9 Discusses Retroactivity of Cancellation of Removal Under INA §240A
CA9 held that Congress clearly intended to limit the availability of cancellation of removal under INA §240A to those who had not previously been granted relief under former §212(c). The court also held that §240A did not have a retroactive effect. (Maldonado-Galindo v. Gonzales, 8/3/06)
President Bush on Comprehensive Immigration Reform in Texas
In an address on comprehensive immigration reform, President Bush discussed increased funding for border security, the end of "catch and release", worksite enforcement, documentation for temporary workers, and deportation.
CA3 Remands for Further Proceedings After Reversing In Absentia Removal Order Resulting from Slight Lateness
The court granted the petition for review after finding there was no failure to appear after petitioner arrived 15-20 minutes late and the in absentia order was entered in violation of petitioner’s right to due process. (Cabrera-Perez v. Gonzales, 8/1/06)
CA3 Finds “Fundamental Defect” in Reinstatement Proceedings
The court held that the INS’s failure to inform Appellant of his right to appeal his reinstatement order, combined with misleading language in the reinstatement notice was a fundamental defect which, if prejudicial, rendered the proceeding fundamentally unfair. (U.S. v. Charleswell, 8/1/06)
BIA Holds Domestic Battery Not a CIMT or “Crime of Domestic Violence”
The BIA held that a conviction for domestic battery under the California Penal Code does not qualify categorically as a conviction for a “crime involving moral turpitude” under INA or, in Ninth Circuit removal proceedings, as a “crime of violence”. Matter of Sanudo, 23 I&N Dec. 968 (BIA 2006)
Outline for CBP Officer Basic Training Law Course
CBP student outline of the Officer Basic Training Law Course dated 8/1/06. Information discussed includes the Fourth Amendment, border searches, border crimes and violations, the role of a CBP officer, and more. Guidance obtained through the CBP FOIA Library.
CA9 Holds Accessory After the Fact is Crime Involving Moral Turpitude
CA9 held that a conviction under California Penal Code §32, accessory after the fact, is a crime involving moral turpitude. Conviction requires a knowing, affirmative act to conceal a felony with the specific intent to hinder prosecution. (Navarro-Lopez v. Gonzales, 7/31/06)
TRAC Study on Immigration Judges and Requests for Asylum
Study from Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University focuses on the disparities between immigration judges, and between represented and unrepresented cases, in asylum decisionmaking.
CA7 Remands Asylum Claim For Lack of Analysis of in BIA Decision
The court found that, where the BIA’s one-sentence opinion assumed that Petitioner was credible but found that he had not met his burden of proof, the opinion lacked sufficient analysis to support the conclusion that the IJ and BIA’s errors were harmless. (Pramatarov v. Gonzales, 7/27/06)
CA2 Says Torture Does Not Include Deprivation of Property
The court reviewed the CAT regulations and found no indication that the definition of torture was intended to encompass destruction, thefts, expropriations, or other deprivations of property. (Jo v. Gonzales, 7/27/06)
BIA to Grant Fewer and Shorter Extensions of Initial Briefing Deadlines
Beginning 8/14/06, the BIA will grant fewer and shorter extensions of initial briefing deadlines in detainee cases.