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
Final Rule on Organization of EOIR
EOIR final rule which finalizes the interim rule published at 84 FR 44537 on 8/26/19, with additional amendments. The rule is effective 11/3/20. (85 FR 69465, 11/3/20)
DOJ’s Immigration Court Practice Manual (Updated on 11/3/20)
On November 3, 2020, the OCIJ updated its Immigration Court Practice Manual, a comprehensive guide on uniform procedures, recommendations, and requirements for practice before immigration courts.
Lawsuit Seeks to Uncover Secretive Expansion of Judicial Black Sites for Immigration Cases
AILA joined the American Immigration Council and the National Immigrant Justice Center in litigation against EOIR and GSA. The lawsuit requests information on the expansion and creation of immigration adjudication centers, which were established as part of EOIR’s Strategic Caseload Reduction plan.
AILA Comments on EOIR’s Proposed Rule on Assistance to Pro Se Individuals and Filing of Form EOIR-27/Form EOIR-28
AILA submitted comments on EOIR’s proposed rule that amends the regulations related to practitioners assisting pro se individuals with drafting, writing, or filing applications, petitions, briefs, and other documents in proceedings before EOIR.
CA6 Says Sufficient Evidence Supported IJ’s Finding That Petitioner Engaged in Alien Smuggling
Where petitioner argued that the government did not prove by “clear, unequivocal and convincing evidence” that she had engaged in alien smuggling, the court denied the petition for review, finding that the substantial evidence standard applied instead. (Morales Bribiesca v. Barr, 10/30/20)
CA9 Holds That “Time-of-Conviction Rule” Applies When Conducting a Categorical Analysis for Removability
The court held that, in determining whether a state criminal conviction is a categorical match for its federal counterpart, it is proper to compare the two drug schedules in effect at the time of the petitioner’s conviction, not at the time of his removal. (Medina-Rodriguez v. Barr, 10/30/20)
CA4 Finds Asylum Applicant’s Proposed Social Group Was Impermissibly Circular Under Matter of A-B-
The court found that the petitioner’s proposed social group of “married El Salvadoran women in a controlling and abusive domestic relationship” violated the anti-circularity requirement reaffirmed in the Attorney General’s ruling in Matter of A-B-. (Amaya-De Sicaran v. Barr, 10/30/20)
DHS Releases Privacy Impact Assessment for CBP Web Emergency Operations Center (WebEOC)
DHS released a PIA for the Web Emergency Operations Center (WebEOC), CBP’s emergency notification, event tracking, and incident management system. The PIA provides information about the uses of WebEOC, including as the point of collection for electronic medical records of individuals in CBP custody.
BIA Finds Evidence of Prior Fraudulent Marriage Precludes Approval of Subsequent Marriage-Based Visa Petition
The BIA ruled that when there is probative evidence that a beneficiary’s prior marriage was fraudulent and entered into to evade immigration laws, a subsequent visa petition filed on beneficiary’s behalf is properly denied under §204(c) of the INA. Matter of Pak, 28 I&N Dec. 113 (BIA 2020)
TRAC Releases Report on Deportation Relief During the Trump Administration
TRAC says IJs have completed 1,075,578 deportation cases during the Trump administration and that 395,244 immigrants have submitted applications for relief. The report provides numerical breakdowns for each relief type and describes the legal grounds under which each type of relief can be granted.
AILA Colorado Chapter Leaders and Partners Discuss Suspected COVID-19 Outbreak in the Aurora Contract Detention Facility
On a press call, AILA Colorado Chapter leaders joined on-the-ground partners and a public health expert to discuss the suspected COVID-19 outbreak in the Aurora Contract Detention Facility.
Resources on ICE Detention During COVID-19
AILA has created resources related to ICE’s handling of detention during COVID-19, including a free recording eligible for CLE on parole and a just-added webinar on seeking release for detained clients.
TRAC Says Asylum Denial Rates Continue to Climb
TRAC released a report noting that despite the partial court shutdown due to the pandemic, in FY2020, immigration judges made the second highest number of asylum decisions in the past two decades. The rate of denial also climbed to a record high of 71.6 percent, compared to 54.6 percent in FY2016.
DHS OIG Says ICE Needs to Address Concerns About Detainee Care at the Howard County Detention Center
DHS OIG released a report saying that, during an inspection of the Howard County Detention Center, it identified violations of ICE detention standards that threatened the health, safety, and rights of detainees, including excessive strip searches and failure to provide two hot meals a day.
ICE Releases Detainees from the Adelanto ICE Processing Center
ICE announced that in response to a court order, ICE has complied with mandated reduction to the overall detainee population at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in Adelanto, CA. Pursuant to the court order, 250 detainees were released; the current population at the facility is approximately 465.
Practice Alert: Implementation of Expedited Removal Expansion
AILA provides a practice alert with information on DHS's announcement that it is significantly expanding expedited removal. On 10/27/20, CBS News reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez released the notice that ICE will be providing to individuals subjected to the expanded ER policy.
CA5 Finds Petitioner’s Diligence Should Be Measured from Issuance of Carranza-De Salinas
The court held that the petitioner had failed to show the requisite due diligence to warrant equitable tolling, where he had waited more than three years after the court’s decision in Carranza-De Salinas v. Holder to file his motion to reopen. (Londono-Gonzalez v. Barr, 10/26/20)
AILA Submits Amicus Brief on Nonstate Actor Determinations in Asylum Claims
AILA submitted an amicus brief in Portillo-Flores v. Barr requesting that the Fourth Circuit to grant en banc review and clarify the standard of review courts apply when making nonstate actor determinations in asylum claims.
AILA and Partners Submit Amicus Brief on Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) Tear Sheets
AILA and partners submitted an amicus brief urging the BIA to conclude that DHS’s service practices for MPP notice and advisal sheets deny respondents their statutory right to notice of the time and place of their removal proceedings and their statutory right to a full and fair hearing.
CA3 Says Petitioner’s New Jersey Conviction for Criminal Sexual Contact Is an Aggravated Felony
Denying the petition for review, the court held that the petitioner’s conviction in New Jersey for criminal sexual contact constituted an aggravated felony under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(iii) that rendered him removable. (Grijalva Martinez v. Att’y Gen., 10/21/20)
AILA and the Council Submit Comments Opposing EOIR’s Proposed Rule, Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal
AILA and the Council submitted comments opposing EOIR’s proposed rule, Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal. If implemented, this rule would drastically limit the ability of individuals to obtain asylum and withholding of removal in the United States.
ICE Implements July 23, 2019, Expedited Removal Designation
ICE announced that due to an order issued by the DC Circuit Court, ICE can now expedite the removal of certain individuals pursuant to the 7/23/19 Designation of Aliens for Expedited Removal. The announcement provides information on which individuals, except for UACs, can now be subjected to ER.
USCIS and EOIR Final Rule on Bars to Asylum Eligibility
USCIS and EOIR final rule that adds seven additional mandatory bars to eligibility for asylum, among other changes. The final rule is effective 11/20/20. (85 FR 67202, 10/21/20)
EOIR Extension of Comment Period on Proposed Revisions to Form EOIR-31A
EOIR extension of a comment period previously announced at 85 FR 42009 on proposed revisions to Form EOIR-31A. Comments are now due 11/19/20. (85 FR 66578, 10/20/20)
CA9 Says Knowingly Sponsoring or Exhibiting an Animal in Animal Fighting Venture Is a CIMT
The court held that the petitioner’s conviction under 7 USC §2156(a)(1) for knowingly sponsoring or exhibiting an animal in an animal fighting venture was a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT), and found that he was ineligible for cancellation of removal. (Ortega-Lopez v. Barr, 10/20/20)