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
Why Finding Your Pro Bono Opportunity Can Help YOU
AILA's Practice and Professionalism Center highlights a few recent “Pro Bono High Fives,“ featuring AILA members, to inspire and encourage others to use their legal expertise to change lives, and maybe have some fun too!
DHS Provides a Privacy Impact Assessment for the Alternatives to Detention Program
DHS provides a Privacy Impact Assessment that describes how ICE’s Alternatives to Detention (ATD) programs operate in a manner that includes privacy and civil liberties safeguards in accordance with law, regulation, and policy.
CA9 Says OSC That Fails to Disclose Time and Place of Immigrant’s Deportation Hearing Triggers Stop-Time Rule
The court held that an Order to Show Cause (OSC) that fails to disclose the time and place of an immigrant’s deportation proceedings triggers the stop-time rule in a transitional rules case, and that petitioner was ineligible for suspension of deportation. (Gutierrez-Alm v. Garland, 3/15/23)
CA8 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review Agency’s Discretionary Hardship Determination
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA’s decision that petitioner failed to establish that his qualifying relatives would suffer exceptional and extreme hardship if he were removed and thus was ineligible for cancellation of removal. (Garcia-Pascual v. Garland, 3/14/23)
Free and Freeing: AILA’s Law Student Membership
AILA member Marisabel Alonso encourages all current law students interested in immigration law to take advantage of the many benefits of AILA's free law student membership and how those benefits can help them during law school and beyond as they become practitioners.
AILA Sends Letter to White House Opposing Family Detention
AILA sent a letter to President Biden expressing concern that his administration is considering reinstating family detention. AILA lays out alternative to solutions to addressing the need to process large numbers of individuals and urging the Administration to not reinstate family detention.
Client Flyer: ICE Directive on Interests of Noncitizen Parents and Guardians
AILA provides a short flyer to share with clients to answer questions about ICE’s directive on the interests of noncitizen parents and guardians of minor children and incapacitated adults. Two versions are available: a generic PDF version and a customizable Word version.
ICE Releases Documents on Matter of Cruz-Valdez
ICE released documents related to Matter of Cruz-Valdez, the SIJS class action re: bona fide determinations, Ms. L litgation, and more. Special thanks to a FOIA filed by Nico Ratkowski.
District Court Vacates Federal Government’s Parole+ATD Policy Under the APA
A federal judge has found that the Biden Administration is violating U.S. immigration law by authorizing the release of noncitizens using parole and alternatives to detention. The judgment is stayed for seven days. (Florida v. United States, 3/8/23)
Practice Alert: Considerations for Responding to ICE Data Leak
AILA’s ICE Committee provides recommendations on advocacy and analysis of negative consequences for clients impacted by the ICE data leak of personal information of over 6,000 people in detention. Special thanks to committee member Leah L. Chavarria for her work on this alert.
AILA Urges the Biden Administration to Reject the Return of Family Detention and Calls for the Adoption of Humane and Effective Alternatives
AILA expressed grave concern at the possibility the Biden Administration may resume family detention; AILA urges President Biden to stand by the previous decision to end family detention and reject policies that have been proven to have devastating consequences on children and families.
CA5 Finds That Petitioner’s Texas Conviction for Aggravated Robbery Was an Aggravated Felony Theft Offense
The court held that the BIA did not err in concluding that the petitioner’s conviction for aggravated robbery in Texas constituted an aggravated felony theft offense under INA §101(a)(43) thus rendering him ineligible for asylum. (Rodriguez Gonzalez v. Garland, 3/3/23)
District Court Orders Newark IJs to Consider All Relevant Factors Presented in Adjudicating WebEx Motions
The district court ordered Newark IJs to consider all relevant factors presented while exercising their discretion in deciding attorneys’ motions for WebEx hearings at the Newark Immigration Court, including EOIR’s internal guidance and CDC guidance. (AILA New Jersey Chapter v. EOIR, 3/1/23)
EOIR Announces Unplanned Maintenance to the Automated Case Information System
EOIR announced unplanned maintenance to the Automated Case Information System and the Respondent Access application. EOIR is working to restore them as quickly as possible.
Virtual Attorney Visitation Added to Three Louisiana ICE Jails
ICE has installed new “Virtual Attorney Visitation” capabilities at three immigration jails within the New Orleans Area of Responsibility. The three jails are: River Correctional Center, Richwood Correctional Center, and South Louisiana ICE Processing Center.
DHS and DOJ Proposed Rule to Establish an Asylum “Transit Ban”
DHS and DOJ proposed rule to establish a rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility for certain noncitizens who enter at the southwest border without documentation and traveled through a country that is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. (88 FR 11704, 2/23/23)
CA9 Says Petitioner Was Required to File Separate Cross-Appeal to Challenge IJ’s Alternative Order on Merits of His Claims
The court held that BIA permissibly declined to consider petitioner’s challenges to IJ’s alternative denial of withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) because he did not file a cross-appeal of that determination. (Lopez Hernandez v. Garland, 2/16/23)
CA11 Remands Asylum Claim of Cuban Petitioner Who Claimed He Was in Severe Danger in Cuba Due to His Political Beliefs
Granting the petition for review, the court held that two purported inconsistencies in the record were not supported by reasonable, substantial, and probative evidence, and thus could not form the basis for an adverse credibility determination as to petitioner. (Serra v. Att’y Gen., 2/15/23)
AILA’s EOIR Liaison Committee Meets with EOIR (2/15/23)
The AILA EOIR Liaison Committee shared the minutes from its meeting with EOIR on February 15, 2023.
BIA Says Noncitizens Inadmissible Under INA §212(a)(9)(B)(i) Are Not Required to Live Outside U.S. During Waiting Period
The BIA held that noncitizens who are inadmissible for a specified waiting period pursuant to INA §212(a)(9)(B)(i) due to their previous unlawful presence and departure are not required to reside outside the United States during this time. Matter of Duarte-Gonzalez, 28 I&N Dec. 688 (BIA 2023)
CA4 Vacates BIA’s Denial of Equitable Tolling After Finding Petitioner Demonstrated Due Diligence
Reviewing the BIA’s decision de novo, the court vacated the BIA’s denial of equitable tolling based on the Board’s finding that the petitioner had been insufficiently diligent in discovering his rights. (Williams v. Garland, 2/9/23, amended 2/10/23)
Practice Pointer: Filing Administrative Stays of Removal Post-Enforcement Priorities Vacatur
This practice pointer summarizes developments related to filing stays of removal based on AILA’s ICE Liaison Committee engagements with ICE Headquarters. Special thanks to John Gihon and Sui Chung for their work on this practice pointer.
BIA Holds That Pereira and Niz-Chavez Are Inapplicable to Proceedings Initiated by Form I-122 and Other Pre-IIRAIRA Charging Docume
The BIA held that Pereira v. Sessions and Niz-Chavez v. Garland are inapplicable to proceedings initiated by the Form I-122 and other charging documents issued prior to the effective date of the IIRAIRA. Matter of J-L-L-, 28 I&N Dec. 684 (BIA 2023)
CA8 Rejects Honduran Petitioner’s Claim That Any Actual or Imputed Political Opinion Was a Central Reason for His Mistreatment
The court found that the BIA’s determination that the petitioner had never expressed any political opinion or anti-corruption sentiment and that the MS-13 gang had never imputed such a position to him when it threatened him was supported by the record. (Aguilar Montecinos v. Garland, 2/10/23)
Members of Congress Send Letter to OMB on CMPP Funding
Members of Congress sent a letter to OMB requesting that the President’s FY2024 budget proposal include robust funding of at least $20 million for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Case Management Pilot Program (CMPP) and DHS to prioritize establishing the program.