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
Practice Alert: New EOIR Policy Memoranda
Since January 20, 2025, EOIR has released various Policy Memoranda (PM). A list of the memoranda is published on the EOIR website. This practice alert is meant to give practitioners a sense of the content of each memo as well as the relevant link for further reading.
CA9 Holds That Petitioner’s Conviction for First-Degree Criminal Mistreatment in Oregon Was a CIMT
The court held that the petitioner’s conviction for first-degree criminal mistreatment in Oregon was a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT), and that the petitioner was ineligible for cancellation of removal under INA §240A(a). (Murillo-Chavez v. Bondi, 2/13/25)
District Court Approves Class Action Settlement Agreement in Ms. L. v. ICE
The district court approved a class action settlement agreement in a lawsuit relating to families who were apprehended together by the U.S. government at the U.S.-Mexico border between 1/20/17 and 1/20/21, but were then separated and kept apart. (Ms. L., et al. v. ICE, et al., 12/1/23)
AILA Urges Members of Congress to Reject Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act (H.R. 35)
AILA urges members of Congress to reject HR 35, and instead to enact solutions that ensure a more orderly, effective and fair immigration system.
CA1 Upholds Asylum Denial After Finding Petitioner’s Ex-Partner Was Motivated to Harm Her Based on Personal Issues
The court upheld the BIA’s conclusion that petitioner, whose particular social group (PSG) consisted of “Brazilian women who are victims of domestic violence,” did not show the requisite nexus between her proffered social group and any past or future harm. (Sanches Alves v. Bondi, 2/12/25)
CA9 Holds That BIA Erred in Finding Romanian Petitioners’ Harm Did Not Cumulatively Rise to Level of Past Persecution
The court found that the record compelled the conclusion that the petitioners’ past experiences collectively rose to the level of persecution, and that the BIA erred when it determined that the Roma ethnicity is not a disfavored group in Romania. (Lapadat v. Bondi, 2/12/25)
CA5 Finds It Lacked Jurisdiction to Review BIA’s Continuance Determination as to Cameroonian Petitioner
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA’s affirmance of the IJ’s denial of the petitioner’s motion to continue his removal proceedings based on his daughter’s then-pending I-130 petition, and upheld the BIA’s denial of his motion to remand. (Ikome v. Bondi, 2/12/25)
CA1 Finds BIA Did Not Depart from Its Settled Course of Adjudication in Denying Sua Sponte Reopening
The court rejected petitioner’s argument that BIA, in denying his motion to reopen, departed from its settled practice of granting sua sponte reopening whenever a conviction rendering a noncitizen removable is vacated due to a defect in the criminal proceedings. (Phimmady v. Bondi, 2/10/25)
CA9 Declines Government’s Request to Amend Case Caption Based on Rule 15(a)(2)(A)
The court held that Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 15(a)(2)(A)’s naming requirement is satisfied when a petitioner’s “A” number from the agency proceeding below appears in the caption or body of a petition for review. (Perez-Perez v. Bondi, 2/10/25)
Practice Alert: Changes to Virtual Service in Recent EOIR Policy Manual Updates
EOIR issued changes to the immigration court practice manual that have significant implications on service of OPLA.
EOIR Rescinds Memo on Language Access in Immigration Court
EOIR Acting Director Sirce Owen issued Policy Memorandum (PM) 25-20 rescinding and canceling the 6/6/23 Director’s Memorandum (DM) 23-02, which provided guidance to IJs regarding language access issues in immigration court proceedings.
CA8 Upholds Denial of Asylum Where Petitioners’ Persecutor Was Later Murdered
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of asylum as to the mother and daughter petitioners from Mexico, where the mother had experienced while pregnant a physical assault by her cousin, who was later murdered, but no harm had come to her daughter in utero. (Becerril-Sanchez v. Bondi, 2/6/25)
Featured Issue: Practicing under the New Trump Administration
This page curates resources from AILA and other organizations that members may find helpful as they adapt to practicing under the new Trump Administration.
EOIR Issues Memo on Re-Establishing a Robust Anti-Fraud Program
EOIR Acting Director Sirce Owen issued Policy Memorandum (PM) 25-19 stating that EOIR is committed to re-establishing a robust and effective Anti-Fraud Program that will provide resources to employees on how to identify and report suspected fraud, coordinate with investigative authorities, and more.
DOJ Issues Memo on Sanctuary Jurisdiction Directives
Attorney General Pamela Bondi issued a memo on sanctuary jurisdiction directives, stating that sanctuary jurisdictions should not receive access to federal grants administered by the DOJ, among other things.
DOJ Issues Memo on Policy Regarding Charging, Plea Negotiations, and Sentencing
The Attorney General issued a memo outlining DOJ's general policy on charging decisions, plea bargaining, sentencing, and investigative and charging priorities, including immigration enforcement priorities.
2025 AILA Annual Conference and Webcast on Immigration Law
Registration is now open for the 2025 AILA Annual Conference and Webcast on Immigration Law. Join thousands of immigration attorneys, professors, paralegals, students, and special guests on June 18-21 in Denver, CO, as we recharge our spirits, hone our skills, and strengthen our community.
EOIR Reinstates Memo on Legal Advocacy by Non-Representatives in Immigration Court
EOIR Acting Director Sirce Owen issued Policy Memorandum (PM) 25-18 rescinding the 5/5/22 Director’s Memorandum (DM) 22-06 and reinstating the 11/21/19 PM 20-05, which reaffirms principles related to legal advocacy by non-representatives in immigration court proceedings.
CA4 Holds That BIA Failed to Consider Relevant Evidence in Finding Petitioner Could Relocate in Honduras
The court held that the BIA ignored legally relevant evidence when it reversed the IJ’s decision granting deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) after determining that petitioner had failed to prove he could relocate safely in Honduras. (Funez-Ortiz v. McHenry, 2/4/25)
Featured Issue: Representing Clients Before ICE
This resource page combines AILA and partner resources for attorneys representing clients before ICE. Includes contact information and website links to procedures and policies related to ICE’s operations.
Executive Order on Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism
On 1/29/25, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 14188 that, among other actions, directs certain heads of agencies to include in reports to the president recommendations to familiarize colleges and universities with the grounds for inadmissibility under INA §212(a)(3). (90 FR 8847, 2/3/25)
EOIR Rescinds Memo Providing Guidance on Enforcement Priorities and Prosecutorial Discretion
EOIR Acting Director Sirce Owen issued Policy Memorandum (PM) 25-16 that rescinds the 9/28/23 Director’s Memorandum (DM) 23-04, which provided guidance to EOIR adjudicators on DHS enforcement priorities and prosecutorial discretion initiatives.
EOIR Reinstates Policy Memos with Guidance on Asylum Applications and Continuances
EOIR Acting Director Sirce Owen issued Policy Memorandum (PM) 25-17 rescinding and canceling Director’s Memorandum (DM) 22-05 and reinstating Policy Memoranda (PM) 19-05, 21-06, and 21-13, which provide guidance on the processing and adjudication of asylum applications and on continuances.
EOIR Issues Memo Reinstating Prior Guidance on Child Advocates in Immigration Proceedings
EOIR Acting Director Sirce Owen issued Policy Memorandum (PM) 25-14, rescinding a 2023 Director’s Memorandum (DM) that directed IJs to accept certain filings as evidence and to allow certain witnesses to testify, and reinstating the 11/15/19 PM 20-03, “Child Advocates in Immigration Proceedings.”
EOIR Issues Memo on Office of Legal Access Programs
EOIR Acting Director Sirce Owen issued Policy Memorandum (PM) 25-15 to clarify questions regarding the status and function of EOIR’s Office of Legal Access Programs (OLAP), including information on the Legal Orientation Program (LOP).