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
EOIR Releases Factsheet on "Myths vs. Facts About Immigration Proceedings"
EOIR released an updated factsheet on "Myths vs. Facts About Immigration Proceedings."
Practice Pointer: How to File FOIA Requests with EOIR
AILA National's FOIA Committee has prepared a Practice Pointer on how to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).
DOJ’s Immigration Court Practice Manual (Updated on 12/23/20)
On December 23, 2020, the OCIJ updated its Immigration Court Practice Manual, a comprehensive guide on uniform procedures, recommendations, and requirements for practice before immigration courts.
Practice Pointer: How to File FOIA Requests with ICE
AILA National's FOIA Committee has prepared a Practice Pointer on how to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Practice Alert: Recent Final Rules Affecting Asylum, Withholding of Removal and Credible Fear/Reasonable Fear Determinations, and the Third Country Tr
This Practice Alert highlights three recently published final rules that will take effect in January 2021 and have a profound impact upon applicants for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection.
USCIS and EOIR Final Rule on Pandemic-Related Security Bars to Asylum and Withholding of Removal
DHS and DOJ issued a joint final rule based on a 7/9/20 NPRM clarifying that the danger to the security of the U.S. statutory bar to eligibility for asylum and withholding of removal may encompass emergency public health concerns. Effective date delayed to 12/31/24. (85 FR 84160, 12/23/20)
ICE Releases FY2020 Annual Report
ICE released its FY2020 annual report. In FY2020, ICE ERO conducted 103,603 arrests, just under 30 percent fewer than in FY2019. ICE ERO also conducted 185,884 removals in FY2020. The report also includes FY2020 data from ICE HSI and other ICE operations.
AILA and Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid Submit Amicus Brief on Burden of Proof in Habeas-Ordered Custody Hearings
AILA and Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid submitted an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota supporting the petitioner’s argument that the government must bear the burden of proof by clear and convincing evidence in habeas-ordered custody hearings.
CA1 Upholds Withholding of Removal Denial to Honduran Petitioner Who Claimed He Was Persecuted by Local Police
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s denial of withholding of removal to petitioner where he had failed to establish a nexus between his treatment by the police and his membership in the particular social group of his immediate family. (Ruiz-Varela v. Barr, 12/23/20)
CA8 Upholds Denial of Petitioner’s Motion to Reopen Removal Proceedings Based on Changed Country Conditions in Somalia
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of petitioner’s motion to reopen based on changed country conditions in Somalia, finding that the BIA did not fail to consider al-Shabaab’s increase in power or ISIS-Somalia’s emergence and growing violence from 2011 to 2018. (Mohamed v. Barr, 12/23/20)
BIA Holds Oregon Conviction for Child Neglect Is a Crime of Child Abuse Under INA §237(a)(2)(E)(i)
The BIA ruled that a conviction for child neglect in the second degree under §163.545(1) of the Oregon Revised Statutes is categorically a "crime of child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment" under INA §237(a)(2)(E)(i). Matter of Rivera-Mendoza, 28 I&N Dec. 184 (BIA 2020)
Practice Alert: Select Immigration Courts Have Resumed Some Master Calendar Hearings
As previously announced, certain immigration courts have resumed non-detained hearings. This practice alert identifies which of these reopened courts have resumed master calendar hearings in some capacity.
EOIR Releases Memo Cancelling Certain Operating Policies and Procedures Memoranda
EOIR issued a policy memo (PM 21-11) rescinding and cancelling the following Operating Policies and Procedures Memoranda: OPPM 97-9, OPPM 00-02, OPPM 01-03, OPPM 04-09, and OPPM 06-03.
CA1 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Petitioner with Proposed Social Group of “Guatemalan Women”
Rejecting the petitioner’s argument that her asserted persecution was based on membership in a proposed social group consisting of “Guatemalan women,” the court found that the scope of the petitioner’s persecution did not extend beyond a personal vendetta. (Pojoy-De León v. Barr, 12/21/20)
TRAC Finds Jump in Immigration Court Case Completion Times as Delays Lengthen
TRAC found that immigration court closures and delays have drastically reduced the number of completed cases for the first two months of FY2021, during which courts received 29,758 new filings. The active backlog at the end of November 2020 reached 1,281,586, up 18,821 cases in the last two months.
CBP Provides FY2021 Custody and Transfer Statistics
CBP provided custody and transfer statistics from FY2021, including data on in-custody information by location, dispositions for apprehended individuals and those considered inadmissible, and transfer destinations for individuals leaving CBP custody.
CA9 Finds Petitioner’s Proposed Social Group of “Known Drug Users” Lacked Particularity
The court held that the Vietnamese petitioner had waived review of the BIA’s discretionary denial of asylum relief, and that his proposed social group comprised of “known drug users” was not legally cognizable because it lacked particularity. (Nguyen v. Barr, 12/21/20)
AILA and Partners Submit Comments on DHS Proposed Rule to Eliminate Employment Authorization for Individuals with a Final Order of Removal
AILA and partners submitted comments objecting to a DHS proposed rule which would restrict or prohibit work authorization for individuals with final orders of removal, arguing that the proposed rule conflicts with statutory provisions of the INA and disrupts settled practices and expectations.
AILA and the Council Submit Comments on EOIR’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Define “Good Cause”
AILA and the Council submitted comments opposing EOIR’s NPRM to define “good cause” for a continuance, arguing that it strips respondents of right to counsel, removes key procedural protections for immigrants, and removes authority from immigration judges to manage their dockets.
CA3 Holds That Conspiracy to Commit Fraud of Over $10,000 in Intended Losses Is an Aggravated Felony
The court held that a conspiracy or attempt to commit fraud or deceit involving over $10,000 in intended losses is an aggravated felony, and remanded to determine whether petitioner’s convictions under 18 USC §1037(a) reflected over $10,000 in intended losses. (Rad v. Att’y Gen., 12/21/20)
EOIR Issues Memo Updating Policy Regarding Biennial Fee Reviews, Fees, and Fee Waivers
EOIR issued a policy memorandum (PM 21-10) memorializing and updating EOIR policy regarding biennial fee reviews, fees, and fee waivers. This memo supersedes and replaces Operating Policies and Procedures Memoranda (OPPM) 06-01, Fee Waiver Form.
EOIR Announces 14 New Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the investiture of 14 new immigration judges. Notice includes the judges' names, biographical information, and courts of appointment.
TRAC Finds Major Swings in Immigration Criminal Prosecutions During Trump Administration
TRAC found that enforcement policies enacted by the Trump administration along the southern border contributed to notable fluctuations in the number of immigration-related prosecutions in federal courts since January 2017. Prosecutions climbed sharply in early 2018, and then declined in early 2020.
CA1 Upholds Denial of Withholding of Removal to Honduran Landowner Who Was Threatened by Unidentified Man
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s denial of withholding of removal to petitioner, finding he had failed to prove a nexus between the alleged persecution and membership in his proposed particular social group of “Honduran landowners.” (Marquez-Paz v. Barr, 12/18/20)
EOIR Final Rule Increasing Fees for Filings
EOIR final rule increasing the filing fees for applications, appeals, and motions that are subject to an EOIR-determined fee. The rule is effective 1/19/21. (85 FR 82750, 12/18/20)