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
CA5 Upholds Denial of Motion to Reopen Where Petitioner Alleged Conditions Had Materially Worsened in El Salvador
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of the untimely motion to reopen, rejecting the petitioner’s claims that the BIA had misapplied Singh v. Lynch and that conditions in El Salvador had materially worsened since the issuance of her removal order. (Martinez-Guevara v. Garland, 3/3/22)
CA8 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Salvadoran Petitioner Who Feared Persecution Based on Her Religious Activities and Gender
Upholding the BIA’s asylum denial, the court held that petitioner had failed to show that her fear of future persecution was objectively reasonable, because her evidence did not support her claim of a particularized fear based on her religious activities. (Rivera Menjivar v. Garland, 3/3/22)
Practice Alert: DHS Affirmatively Filing Motions to Dismiss in Limited Cases
AILA informs on a limited initiative by DHS to affirmatively identify certain cases to remove from court dockets to be finalized before USCIS. Members may be served or have already been served with a motion to dismiss certain non-detained, removal cases, with pending family-based AOS applications.
Nineteen Senators Call on Senate Leadership to Fund Legal Representation for Immigrants
On March 3, 18 senators joined Senator Gillibrand (D-NY) in calling on Senate leadership to include funding for DOJ for legal representation programs for immigrants in the FY2022 appropriations bill.
CA3 Remands Where BIA Inserted Itself into Factfinder Role in Denying Petitioner’s CAT Claim
Remanding petitioner’s Convention Against Torture (CAT) claim, the court held that the BIA erred by disagreeing with the IJ’s weighing of the evidence when it reversed the IJ’s factual determination that petitioner would likely be tortured in Guatemala. (Arreaga-Bravo v. Att’y Gen., 3/2/22)
CA4 Upholds Asylum Denial to Petitioner Who Claimed She Was Persecuted on Account of Her Family Relationship to Her Sister
Denying the petition for review, the court found that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s conclusion that the petitioner’s family relationship to her sister was not a central reason for her persecution by her sister’s abusive ex-husband. (Toledo-Vasquez v. Garland, 3/2/22)
CA4 Says BIA Should Have Analyzed Petitioner’s Motion to Reopen Under 8 CFR §1003.23(b)(3)
The court held that the BIA erred by analyzing the petitioner’s motion to reopen his asylum application under the wrong standard, concluding that the motion should have been considered under 8 CFR §1003.23(b)(3), not §1003.23(b)(4). (Garcia Hernandez v. Garland, 3/2/22)
ICE Releases SOP for Termination of Agreement at Detention Facilities
ICE provided standard operating procedures consolidating the steps ERO staff take when terminating ICE operations at a detention facility, including appropriate communication with stakeholders and representatives.
AILA Policy Brief: Recommendations on the Expansion and Implementation of Immigration Legal Representation Programs
AILA provides recommendations on the implementation of immigration legal representation programs based on the findings of the AILA Legal Representation Task Force.
CA8 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review BIA’s Purely Discretionary Decision Not to Sua Sponte Reopen Petitioner’s Proceedings
Where the BIA had dismissed petitioner’s appeal of the IJ’s denial of her cancellation application, the court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA’s refusal to sua sponte reopen the proceedings, because it was a purely discretionary decision. (Salcido Mar v. Garland, 2/28/22)
CA1 Says Massachusetts Conviction for Accessory After the Fact Is an Aggravated Felony
The court held that the IJ and BIA properly concluded that petitioner’s Massachusetts conviction for accessory after the fact to the crime of murder was categorically an offense relating to obstruction of justice that rendered him removable as an aggravated felon. (Silva v. Garland, 2/28/22)
CA6 Says Petitioner Knowingly Filed Frivolous Asylum Application Under INA §208(d)(6)
The court held that despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Niz-Chavez v. Garland, the petitioner remained ineligible for cancellation of removal because he had filed a frivolous asylum application within the meaning of INA §208(d)(6). (Khaytekov v. Garland, 2/25/22)
EOIR to Open Hyattsville and Laredo Immigration Courts
EOIR will open immigration courts in Hyattsville, Maryland, and Laredo, Texas, today, February 28, 2022. The Hyattsville and Laredo immigration courts will have 16 and 8 immigration judges, respectively. Both courts will hear transferred cases; EOIR is notifying parties whose locations have changed.
EOIR Suspending Operations at Houston – Smith Street Immigration Court
EOIR is suspending operations at the Houston – Smith Street court. Hearings from February 28 through March 11, 2022, will be postponed. EOIR expects hearings to resume on March 14, 2022, for noncitizens who have representation. Information on filing, remote hearings, and more is available.
Client Flyer: Protecting Your Permanent Residency
AILA provides a short flyer for you to share with your clients regarding how to protect permanent residency and what types of acts could make them removable. There are generic PDF and customizable Word versions in English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and Farsi. Please share widely with your networks.
BIA Dismisses Appeal of IJ’s Denial of Adjustment of Status under INA §209(b)
BIA found that an applicant for adjustment of status under INA §209(b) must possess asylee status at the time, and thus an applicant whose asylee status has been terminated cannot adjust to lawful permanent resident status under this provision. Matter of T-C-A-, 28 I&N Dec. 472 (BIA 2022)
AILA Calls on Biden Administration to Help Ukrainian Nationals as Russia Invades
AILA calls on the Biden administration to move immediately to help Ukrainian nationals as Russia invades Ukraine, including expeditious processing and humanitarian relief such as Temporary Protected Status and a moratorium on removals.
USCIS Publishes Notice on "Arriving Alien" Cubans and Parole
USCIS will allow certain Cuban nationals to file I-290B motions for up to one year (or a new I-485) if they were denied Cuban Adjustment for lack of a parole document. This benefits a large group of "arriving alien" Cubans whom DHS released from custody with I-220A recognizance orders or ICE bonds.
CA9 Withdraws Prior Opinion and Issues Substitute Opinion in B.R. v. Garland
The court granted respondent’s petition for panel rehearing, withdrew its prior opinion, and held that the BIA erred by failing to credit or discredit petitioner’s specific evidence that the government’s evidence of alienage was tainted by violations of his rights. (B.R. v. Garland, 2/23/22)
AILA and NIJC Submit Amicus Brief on a “Notice to Appear”
AILA and The National Immigrant Justice Center submitted a brief in Matter of Fernandes supporting respondent’s objection to the NTA and failure of DHS to abide by the procedure set forth in the INA for initiating removal proceedings. Termination without prejudice should follow forthwith.
EOIR Updates Appendix F of the Policy Manual Regarding Certificate of Service
EOIR updated appendix F of the policy manual regarding information on “certificate of service” or “proof of service.”
CA1 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Guatemalan Petitioner with Mam Identity
The court held it lacked jurisdiction to review, concluding that petitioner’s factual claim masqueraded as a legal challenge because it took issue with the evidentiary basis for BIA’s finding that circumstances did not excuse his untimely asylum application. (López-Pérez v. Garland, 2/22/22)
CA1 Dismisses Challenge to Canceled FARO for Lack of Jurisdiction
The court dismissed for lack of jurisdiction the petition for review of a Final Administrative Removal Order (FARO), finding that DHS’s cancellation of the FARO was valid, and thus that there was no final removal order against the petitioner at the present time. (Xu v. Garland, 2/18/22)
CA2 Holds New York Petit Larceny Is a CIMT
The court held that New York petit larceny requires intent to deprive the owner of their property either permanently or under circumstances where the owner’s property rights are substantially eroded and is categorically a crime involving moral turpitude. (Ferreiras Veloz v. Garland, 2/17/22)
ICE 60-Day Notice and Request for Comments on Proposed Revisions to Form I-333
ICE 60-day notice and request for comments on proposed revisions to Form I-333, Obligor Change of Address. Comments are due 4/18/22. (87 FR 9079, 2/17/22)