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
BIA Upholds Denial of Asylum Where Corroborating Evidence Was Reasonably Available
The BIA held that an alien who did not provide evidence to corroborate his identity, nationality, claim of persecution, and other relevant claims, where it was reasonable to expect such evidence, failed to meet the burden of proof for asylum. (Matter of M-D-, 3/13/98)
BIA Upholds Denial of Asylum Claim Based on Fear of Shining Path
The BIA held that the reasonableness of an alien's fear is reduced when his family remains in his native country unharmed for a long period after his departure and upheld the denial where DOS evidence indicated the Shining Path operates in only a few areas of Peru. (Matter of A-E-M-, 2/20/98)
BIA Says Asylum Burden Requires More Than General Testimony
The BIA held that an asylum applicant does not meet the burden of proof by general and meager testimony and that the weaker an applicant's testimony, the greater the need for corroborative evidence. (Matter of Y-B-, 2/19/98).
BIA on Credibility and Demeanor
The BIA held that because an IJ is in the unique position to observe the testimony of the alien, a credibility finding which is supported by a reasonable adverse inference drawn from the alien's demeanor generally should be accorded a high degree of deference. (Matter of A-S-, 2/19/98)
Aggravated Felony Press Release Sample
Sample press release from AILA with instructions on retroactive application of the aggravated felony rules.
NSC Liaison Notes from Meeting with NSC (2/12/98)
Minutes from the Nebraska Service Center/AILA Liaison meeting which was held on 2/12/98. Topics included adjustment of status, fingerprints, impact of prior arrests/convictions, aging out, H-1Bs, L-1s, post-approval issues, I-140s, I-130s, naturalizations, and re-entry permits.
BIA on Exercise of Discretion for Cancellation of Removal
The BIA held that the general standards developed in Matter of Marin for the exercise of discretion under 212(c) are applicable to the exercise of discretion under section 240A(a). (Matter of C-V-T-, 2/12/98).
CA2 Says Petitioner Born in Philippines Is Not a USC
The court held that Petitioner’s birth in the Philippines while that country was a United States territory does not confer United States citizenship upon her under the Fourteenth Amendment. (Valmonte v. INS, 2/11/98)
BIA on Eligibility for 212(h) Waiver
The BIA held that an alien who has not previously been admitted for permanent residence is statutorily eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility under INA 212(h) despite his conviction for an aggravated felony. (Matter of Michel, 1/30/98)
CA10 Addresses Transporting Undocumented Aliens Criteria
CA10 finds that transporting alien a substantial distance for the purpose of seeking employment is not sufficient to sustain a transporting charge. (USA v. Barajas-Chavez, 1/28/98)
EOIR Notice on Suspension and Cancellation Under NACARA
EOIR notice on suspension of deportation and cancellation of removal under NACARA. Filing of motions to reopen will be between 1/16/98 and 9/11/98. (63 FR 3154, 1/21/98)
BIA on Impact of Counterfeit Identity Document on Claim
The BIA held that an ID document that is found to be counterfeit by forensic experts not only discredits the applicant's claim as to identity and nationality but also indicates an overall lack of credibility. (Matter of O-D-, 1/8/98)
INS Advises on Expedited Removal: Additional Policy Guidance
A 12/30/97 memo from Michael A. Pearson Executive Associate Commissioner (INS) addressing policy questions, procedural and logistical problems and quality assurance concerns related to the expedited removal process.
INS Memo with Expedited Removal Guidance
A 12/30/97 memo from Michael A. Benson, Executive Associate Commissioner (INS) regarding implementation of the expedited removal process. (Courtesy of Daniel C. Horne)
INS on Withdrawal of Application for Admission
A 12/22/97 memo from Paul Virtue, Executive Associate Commissioner (INS) regarding withdrawal of application for admission instead of expedited removal.
INS Advises on Withdrawal of Applications for Admission
A 12/22/97 memo from Paul Virtue, Executive Associate Commissioner (INS) reviews and revises Chapter 17.2 of Inspector's Field Manual (IFM), relating to withdrawal of application for admission.
BIA on Definition of "Admission" and Fleuti Doctrine
The BIA held that a returning LPR as described in INA §101(a)(13)(C)(i)-(vi) shall be regarded as "seeking admission" without regard to whether the LPR's departure might previously have been regarded as brief, casual, and innocent under the Fleuti doctrine. (Matter of Collado-Munoz, 12/18/97)
BIA on "Exceptional Circumstances" Exception to Failure to Voluntarily Depart
The BIA held that neither a long-standing minor illness nor an allegation of serious illness to others establishes "exceptional circumstances" under INA §242B(f)(2) without evidence specifying how such circumstances resulted in the alien's failure to depart. (Matter of Ali, 12/9/97)
P.L. 104-141
Full text of a bill 'To require the Attorney General to establish a program in local prisons to identify, prior to arraignment, criminal aliens and aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States, and for other purposes' signed into law on 12/5/97.
AILA and National Lawyers Guild Comments on EOIR Interim Rule on Removal
AILA and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild comments to EOIR interim rule providing for implementation of a transitional policy for processing suspension of deportation or cancellation of removal cases.
BIA Says "General Assertion" Is Not Enough to Reopen In Absentia Order
The BIA held that an applicant's general assertion that he was prevented from reaching his hearing on time due to heavy traffic does not constitute reasonable cause that would warrant reopening his in absentia exclusion proceedings. (Matter of S-A-, 11/25/97)
OCIJ on Enactment of NACARA
Directive from Office of the Chief Immigration Judge on the enactment of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act, including eligibility qualifications and procedures, and changes to suspension of deportation and cancellation of removal.
H.R. 2607 - Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act
Full text of the 'Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act' (NACARA) contained in the 'District of Columbia FY98 Appropriations bill' signed into law on 11/19/97.
Texas Court of Appeals Allows Petitioner to Withdraw Guilty Plea
The trial court granted petitioner a post-conviction writ of habeas corpus and allowed her to withdraw her guilty plea and set aside and dismissed her conviction as the lack of immigration admonitions deprived her of due process and due court of law rights. (Texas v. Jimenez, 11/13/97)
CLINIC Report on Credible Fear and Expedited Removal
Report from the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) on INS implementation of the expedited removal and credible fear screening process.