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
BIA Holds That an IJ May Not Deem an Asylum Application Abandoned Solely Because Respondent Did Not Submit a Declaration
The BIA held that because declarations are not a constituent part of an asylum application, a Form I-589 is not incomplete, and an IJ may not deem it abandoned, solely because the respondent did not submit one. Matter of C–A–R–R–, 29 I&N Dec. 13 (BIA 2025)
CA9 Upholds Denial of Asylum Where BIA Concluded That Indian Petitioner Fabricated His Story
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s determination that the petitioner lacked credibility because his claim exhibited significant linguistic and factual similarities to other claims filed in the past by other asylum applicants from India. (Singh v. Bondi, 3/17/25)
DHS Launches International Ad Campaign on Self-Deportation and Undocumented Migration
DHS announced that, on 3/15/25, it launched its international, multimillion-dollar ad campaign warning undocumented individuals not to come to the United States. The ads will run on radio, broadcast, and digital platforms in multiple countries and regions and in various dialects.
Resources on Litigation Challenging President Trump's Invocation of AEA
View the ACLU's webpage providing information on the lawsuit it filed along with Democracy Forward and the ACLU District of Columbia over President Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 (AEA). (J.G.G. v. Trump, 3/15/25)
ACLU and Democracy Forward Sue Trump Administration over Expected Invocation of Alien Enemies Act
Read the ACLU and Democracy Forward's press release about suing the Trump Administration over the President's "expected unlawful and unprecedented invocation of the Alien Enemies Act."
Featured Issue: Immigration Detention and Alternatives to Detention
AILA calls on Congress to significantly reduce and phase out the use of immigration detention for enforcement purposes, including custodial family detention. Learn more about this issue and how you can join the effort.
EOIR Notice of Information Collection on Form EOIR-31A
EOIR 60-day notice of proposed information collection on Form EOIR-31A, Request by Organization for Accreditation or Renewal of Accreditation of Non-Attorney Representative. Comments are due by 5/13/25. (90 FR 12178, 3/14/25)
EOIR Notice of Information Collection on Form EOIR-31
EOIR 60-day notice of proposed information collection on Form EOIR-31, Request for New Recognition, Renewal of Recognition, Extension of Recognition of a Non-Profit Religious, Charitable, Social Service, or Similar Organization. Comments are due by 5/13/25. (90 FR 12176, 3/14/25)
CA2 Finds It Lacked Jurisdiction to Review Denial of Cancellation Where IJ Found Petitioner Gave False Testimony
The court held that the IJ’s determination that the petitioner had given false testimony for the purpose of obtaining an immigration benefit was an unreviewable question of fact, and upheld the denial of cancellation of removal under INA §242(a)(2)(B). (Penaranda Arevalo v. Bondi, 3/7/25)
Policy Brief: Explaining the Foreign Policy Ground of Removability
The federal government’s arrest and detention of a Columbia University student, Mahmoud Khalil, has put a national spotlight on an obscure provision of immigration law. This policy brief explains this law and the constitutional and statutory concerns with the government’s actions against Khalil.
EOIR Issues Policy Memo Canceling Director’s Memo on Internet-Based Hearings
EOIR Acting Director Sirce Owen issued Policy Memorandum (PM) 25-25 rescinding and canceling Director’s Memorandum (DM) 22-07, which provided guidance to IJs on internet-based video hearings, stating that the DM was “purposeless,” ultra vires, and contradictory of a prior PM.
CA2 Remands After Finding IJ Improperly Applied Matter of M–A–M– Framework
The court held that the IJ improperly applied the Matter of M–A–M– framework to the petitioner’s case by failing to consider the character, scope, and severity of the petitioner’s disabilities and his competency to proceed at his hearing without safeguards. (Reid v. Bondi, 3/14/25)
CA7 Upholds Asylum Denial to Petitioner Who Feared Persecution in Uzbekistan Based on His Conversion to Catholicism
Where the petitioner challenged the denial of his asylum claim on untimeliness grounds, the court found that the “reasonable time” regulation was valid, and concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the timing of the petitioner’s change in circumstances. (Gulomjonov v. Bondi, 3/14/25)
ICE Releases Information on Arrests Made During First 50 Days of Trump Administration
ICE released information on arrests made during the first 50 days of the Trump Administration, reporting that the agency made 32,809 enforcement arrests during that time period.
CA6 Finds It Lacked Jurisdiction over BIA’s Denial of Waiver Based on Hardship Conclusion
The court dismissed the petition for review, holding it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA’s determination that petitioner had failed to establish the extreme hardship to a qualifying relative for a waiver of inadmissibility under INA §212(a)(9)(B)(v), (i)(1). (Rahman v. Bondi, 3/13/25)
CA1 Finds BIA Applied Wrong Burden of Proof in Finding DHS Had Established Petitioners’ Alienage
The court held that the IJ and BIA applied the wrong burden of proof in concluding that DHS had established petitioners’ alienage by “clear and convincing” evidence, finding that the agency was instead required to use the “clear, unequivocal, and convincing” standard. (Rosa v. Bondi, 3/13/25)
CA3 Upholds Denial of Cancellation to Petitioner Whose Son Suffered from Behavioral and Emotional Problems
The court held that substantial evidence supported the IJ’s conclusion that the financial and emotional harm the petitioner’s removal would likely cause to his U.S.-citizen son did not rise to the level of exceptional and extremely unusual hardship. (Wilkinson v. Bondi, 3/11/25)
CA6 Upholds Asylum Denial to Petitioners Who Were Threatened by Loan Sharks in India
The court held that there was a lack of nexus between the petitioners’ proposed social groups and their risk of future persecution, finding that petitioners failed to show that a reason the loan sharks threatened them was because they were loan-shark victims. (Patel, et al. v. Bondi, 3/11/25)
CA10 Upholds Asylum Denial to Indian Petitioner Who Feared Persecution from Badal Party Members
The court held that the BIA did not misinterpret the unable-or-unwilling standard in ruling that petitioner failed to prove India was unable or unwilling to protect him from private persecutors, and found BIA’s factfinding satisfied the substantial evidence standard. (Singh v. Bondi, 3/11/25)
CBP Launches CBP Home Mobile App with New Report Departure Feature
CBP announced the launch of its public-facing mobile application, CBP Home, which replaces the CBP One app and has a new feature, “Intent to Depart,” that provides individuals who are unlawfully present a voluntary process to notify the government of their intent to depart the United States.
DHS Announces Expanded Leadership to Revamp ICE
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem issued a statement announcing new leadership to ICE to “reinstitute a culture of results and accountability.” Todd Lyons will serve as Acting ICE Director, and Madison Sheahan will serve as Deputy Director of ICE.
Policy Brief: The Trump Administration's Assault on Immigration Courts
Analysis of the recent updates from the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) on how new policies and agency terminations will impact removal proceedings.
Reuters Releases Updated Guidance From ICE on Expedited Removal
Reuters published a story today, containing the email guidance from ICE ERO on updated policies regarding expedited removal and certain detentions.
Call for Examples: ICE/HSI Worksite Enforcement Encounters
AILA's Verification and Documentation Committee seeks to obtain a better understanding ICE/HSI’s ongoing worksite enforcement activities in order to assists members better inform clients about such encounters.
CA2 Remands Asylum Claim of Chinese Petitioner Whose Home Was Demolished Without Just Compensation
Where petitioner claimed he had been persecuted by the Chinese government due to his opposition to its “forcible demolition” policy, the court held that the IJ and BIA failed to consider material evidence bearing on petitioner’s claims for asylum and related relief. (Tian v. Bondi, 3/5/25)