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.
| Pre Jan 20, 2025 Status | Current Status |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Browse the Featured Issue: Representing Clients Before ICE collection
CA9 Finds Substantial Evidence Supported BIA’s Implausibility Findings with Respect to Petitioners’ Testimony
Upholding the denial of asylum to petitioners, an Armenian family, the court held that substantial evidence supported the adverse credibility determination as to the husband based on implausibilities in the record, and as to the wife based on evasive testimony. (Lalayan v. Garland, 7/13/21)
OPLA Miami Scheduling, Attorney/Client Assignments (July 12 - August 6, 2021)
OPLA Miami scheduling for all non-detained from July 12 to August 6, 2021. These assignments were based upon dockets published by EOIR.
CA5 Grants Stay Pending Review of Petition to Political Dissident in India
The court found that the IJ’s incredibly high denial rate for asylum applications, along with her noncompliance with Matter of R-K-K-, presented a substantial likelihood that petitioner would be entitled to relief upon full consideration by a merits panel. (Singh v. Garland, 7/12/21)
CA7 Upholds Denial of Asylum Based on Political Opinion to Ukrainian Petitioner
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s conclusion that the petitioner’s experience in Ukraine did not rise to the level of persecution, and that she had failed to show that the new Ukrainian government would persecute her if she returned. (Chuchman v. Garland, 7/12/21)
CA8 Holds That IJ Articulated Specific and Cogent Reasons for Concluding That Petitioner Was Not Credible
The court upheld the BIA’s affirmance of the IJ’s denial of asylum, finding that the IJ had articulated specific, cogent reasons for concluding that the petitioner’s testimony was not credible, and that those reasons were supported by substantial evidence. (Coto-Albarenga v. Garland, 7/12/21)
CA9 Remands Where IJ Failed to Credit Petitioner’s Specific Evidence of Taint
Granting in part the petition for review, the court held that the IJ erred by failing to credit evidence showing that proof of the petitioner’s alienage was tainted because it was obtained from his juvenile court records in violation of California privacy laws. (B.R. v. Garland, 7/12/21)
Takeaways from Johnson v. Guzman Chavez
In this blog post, AILA President-elect Jeremy McKinney highlights the recent Supreme Court decision in Johnson v. Guzman Chavez, which he writes offers a takeaway “for practitioners is to push back when an agency employs Auer or Chevron deference as a shield protecting its faulty administrative dec
ICE 30-Day Extension of Comment Period on New “Flight Manifest/Billing Agreement”
ICE 30-day extension of a comment period previously announced at 86 FR 22246 on 4/27/21 on a new information collection titled “Flight Manifest/Billing Agreement.” Comments are now due 8/9/21. (86 FR 36292, 7/9/21)
CA2 Finds That IJ Considered Sua Sponte the Social Groups Raised by Petitioner on Appeal
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of the petitioner’s withholding of removal claim, finding that the IJ sua sponte considered the social groups now identified by petitioner, and that the IJ’s decision to deny withholding was supported by substantial evidence. (Quintanilla v. Garland, 7/9/21)
CA4 Finds Honduran Petitioner’s Membership in Her Nuclear Family Was At Least One Central Reason for Her Persecution
The court held that the BIA and IJ erred in concluding that the petitioner had failed to demonstrate that she was persecuted in Honduras on account of her membership in her proposed particular social group, namely her nuclear family. (Perez Vasquez v. Garland, 7/9/21)
CA9 Says Conviction for Forgery in California Is Categorically a Crime “Relating to Forgery” Under INA §101(a)(43)(R)
The court held that petitioner’s forgery conviction under section 470a of the California Penal Code categorically constituted an aggravated felony offense “relating to forgery” under INA §101(a)(43)(R), thus rendering him ineligible for voluntary departure. (Escobar Santos v. Garland, 7/9/21)
AILA and Partners Submit Amicus Brief on the Expanded Definition of “Theft Offense”
AILA and partners submitted an amicus brief requesting the Third Circuit grant a petition for rehearing of their decision in K.A. v. AG, which expanded the category of “theft offense” aggravated felonies to include fraudulent takings.
Department of the Treasury Notice on Interest Rate for Immigration Bonds
Department of the Treasury notice that for the period beginning 7/1/21 and ending 9/30/21, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Immigration Bond interest rate is 0.02 per centum per annum. (86 FR 36189, 7/8/21)
CA9 Reverses Denial of Voluntary Departure Where NTA Lacked Date-and-Time Information
The court held that petitioner’s Notice to Appear (NTA)—which lacked the time and date of his removal proceedings—did not terminate his period of physical presence in the United States, and thus BIA erred in finding him ineligible for voluntary departure. (Posos-Sanchez v. Garland, 7/7/21)
CA8 Upholds BIA’s Conclusion That Petitioner Could Reasonably Relocate Within Guatemala to Avoid Vigilante Group
Upholding the denial of withholding of removal, the court found that petitioner had failed to establish membership in a particular social group, and that BIA did not err in determining he could reasonably relocate in Guatemala to avoid a vigilante group. (Bautista-Bautista v. Garland, 7/6/21)
CA9 to Rehear En Banc Case Involving Illegal Reentry Under INA §241(a)(5)
The court ordered rehearing en banc and vacated its prior decision in Tomczyk v. Garland, which held that the act of reentering illegally under INA §241(a)(5) requires some form of misconduct by a noncitizen rather than merely the status of inadmissibility. (Tomczyk v. Garland, 7/6/21)
CA5 Finds It Has Jurisdiction to Determine What Constitutes “Exceptional and Extremely Unusual Hardship”
The court held it had jurisdiction to review the agency’s determination that events that would befall the petitioner’s U.S.-citizen children if he were removed would not amount to “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship” as Congress intended the phrase. (Guerrero Trejo v. Garland, 7/2/21)
ICE Issues Updated Guidance in Identifying and Monitoring Pregnant, Postpartum, or Nursing Individuals
ICE issued a directive stating that it should not detain, arrest, or take into custody for an administrative violation individuals known to be pregnant, postpartum, or nursing, unless release is prohibited by law or exceptional circumstances. Guidance effective 7/1/21.
CA2 Says Burden-Shifting Framework for Late-Filed Appeals Imposed by BIA in Matter of J.M. Acosta Is Unreasonable
The court concluded that the BIA’s interpretation of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA) to require a noncitizen pursuing a late-filed appeal to make a merits-based showing at the notice stage is unreasonable. (Brathwaite v. Garland, 7/1/21)
CA5 Finds That Petitioner’s Conviction in Texas Fell Within BIA’s Definition of “Crime of Child Abuse”
Where the IJ ordered the petitioner removed due to his conviction for online solicitation of a minor in Texas, the court held that the BIA did not err in determining that his conviction was a removable offense under INA §237(a)(2)(E)(i) for a crime of child abuse. (Adeeko v. Garland, 7/1/21)
SCOTUS Grants Cert in Patel v. Garland
The U.S. Supreme Court granted a petition for writ of certiorari in Patel v. Garland to decide whether INA § 242(a)(2)(B)(i) “preserves the jurisdiction of federal courts to review a nondiscretionary determination that a noncitizen is ineligible for certain types of discretionary relief.”
ICE Agrees to Continued Use of National Immigration Detention Hotline for At Least Five Years
Freedom for Immigrants (FFI) reached a settlement with ICE, under which ICE agreed to provide uninterrupted access to FFI’s National Immigration Detention Hotline for at least a five-year period and to pay FFI $100,970 in attorneys’ fees. (Freedom for Immigrants v. DHS, 7/1/21)
BIA Finds IJs May Exercise Discretion to Rescind In Absentia Removal Orders
The BIA rescinded the absentia order of removal, after finding that an IJ, who has properly entered an in absentia order of removal, has the authority to determine whether a late arrival constitutes “exceptional circumstances.” Matter of S-L-H- & L-B-L- 28 I&N Dec. 318 (BIA 2021)
CA9 Upholds District Court Order Requiring DHS to Stop Detaining Certain Minors in Hotels for More Than Three Days
The court affirmed the district court’s order requiring DHS to apply the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement to certain minors detained in hotels for more than a few days pending their expulsion from the United States under the CDC’s Title 42 order. (Flores v. Garland, 6/30/21)
GAO Releases Report on ICE Efforts to Address COVID-19 in Detention Facilities
The GAO released a report on ICE efforts to address COVID-19 in detention facilities. As of March 2021, over 10,000 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed within immigration detention facilities, including eight reported deaths among detainees.