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.
| Pre Jan 20, 2025 Status | Current Status |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Browse the Featured Issue: Representing Clients Before ICE collection
AILA Responds to New Biden Administration Rules on Fees and H-1B Registration Process
AILA responded to the advance copies shared publicly by the Biden Administration regarding U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fees and a revised H-1B visa registration process with insights from President Farshad Owji and Dir of Gov’t Relations Shev Dalal-Dheini.
CA8 Upholds Asylum Denial as to Guatemalan Petitioner Who Received Threats Due to Father’s Unpaid Debt
The court held that the petitioner neither demonstrated that he suffered past persecution on account of a protected factor, nor offered credible, specific evidence that a reasonable person in his position would fear persecution if he returned to Guatemala. (Gaspar-Felipe v. Garland, 1/30/24)
USCIS Provides Summary of Its Final Rule to Adjust Certain Immigration and Naturalization Fees
USCIS provided a summary of its final rule, including information on the new fee schedule, the asylum program fee for employment-based petitions, naturalization fee changes, international adoption validity period changes, and more.
CA4 Upholds Asylum Denial to Salvadoran Petitioner Who Failed to Show Nexus Between His Extortion and Family Membership
The court held that the IJ and BIA did not err in determining that the Salvadoran petitioner had failed to establish nexus between his claimed social group and his extortion by the MS-13 gang, and thus upheld the denial of asylum and withholding of removal. (Lopez-Benitez v. Garland, 1/30/24)
BIA Finds New Evidence Showed Respondent Was Detained Pursuant to INA §236(a) and Was Thus Entitled to Bond Hearing
Unpublished BIA decision holds that the respondent who claimed fear of persecution and who had not received a credible fear interview was entitled to a bond hearing pursuant to INA §236 based on new evidence indicating that she was in removal proceedings under INA §240. (Matter of –, 1/30/24)
Is Chevron Dead? Thoughts after Oral Arguments in Relentless, Inc. and Loper Bright Enterprises
Brian Green and Stephen Yale-Loehr describe the recent oral arguments in two SCOTUS cases which could dramatically affect federal agency review; it is yet unclear whether the decisions will hurt or help immigrants when challenging ambiguous agency decisions or interpretations.
A Bridge We Can All Cross
AILA members César Magaña Linares and Raquel Fernández—a Salvadoran Dreamer with TPS and a second generation Venezuelan American—call for intra-immigrant solidarity.
CA6 Upholds Asylum Denial After Finding That Petitioner Failed to Show State-Sanctioned Persecution
The court upheld the BIA’s determination that the petitioner, who alleged that he had been persecuted in Ghana on account of his political opinions and party membership, failed to establish state action and was thus ineligible for asylum or withholding of removal. (Owusu v. Garland, 1/24/24)
CA1 Remands Asylum Claim of Salvadoran Petitioner Who Was Threatened by Cattle Thieves and Beaten by Police
The court vacated the agency’s denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief as to petitioner, who had been threatened by cattle thieves who murdered his father and who had been beaten by the police in El Salvador. (Pineda-Maldonado v. Garland, 1/24/24)
AILA Advocacy Toolkit for Congressional Border Deal
AILA provides members with a summary of border supplemental funding proposals that would trade funding for Ukraine and other allies for dramatic changes to U.S. asylum and detention laws. This toolkit includes Senate office contact information, template emails, and a template call script.
CA8 Finds BIA Did Not Contradict IJ’s Findings in Denying Special Rule Cancellation of Removal
On remand from the Supreme Court, the court held that the BIA permissibly weighed differently the evidence of harm that petitioner caused to his ex-girlfriend and her daughter without impermissibly finding facts or disregarding the IJ’s factual findings. (Mencia-Medina v. Garland, 1/23/24)
EOIR to Open Concord Immigration Court
EOIR announced it will open a new immigration court in Concord, California, on February 12, 2024, expanding its presence in Northern California. The Concord Immigration Court will have 21 immigration judges.
SCOTUS Hears Oral Arguments on Notice Requirements (Again)
In this blog post, AILA Policy and Practice Counsel Manolasya Perepa describes the recent SCOTUS consolidated oral arguments in Campos-Chavez v. Garland and Garland v. Singh and notes that “issues of improper notice pervade multiple aspects of the immigration system.“
Practice Alert: Access to Counsel in ICE Detention
This practice alert serves to update AILA members on the recent expansion of the Virtual Attorney Visitation (VAV) program, to share resources for communicating with detained clients, and how to escalate access to counsel issues with ICE.
CA5 Remands Asylum Claim Where BIA Failed to Consider Possible Application of TVPRA to Petitioner’s Case
The court held that the BIA erred in denying petitioner’s motion to reopen without resolving whether the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), which would invalidate the existing removal order, applied to the petitioner’s case. (Velasquez-Castillo v. Garland, 1/17/24)
Practice Pointer: BIA Addresses the “Unable or Unwilling” Standard in Matter of C-G-T-
AILA’s Asylum and Refugee Committee provides a practice pointer on Matter of C-G-T-, a 2023 BIA precedent decision in which the BIA reiterated the “unable or unwilling” standard as the correct legal standard for demonstrating eligibility for asylum.
ICE Announces Updated Policy for Body-Worn Cameras
ICE announced updated guidance for its law enforcement personnel, providing standards for the use of body worn cameras (BWCs). The policy calls for the use of BWCs in all aspects of ICE enforcement activities conducted by ICE personnel.
ICE Agrees to Post Its Bond Processing Policies Online in FOIA Lawsuit Settlement
A federal district court in California approved a settlement in which ICE agreed to post its bond processing policies online to settle a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by bond-funding groups in December 2022. (National Bail Fund Network, et al. v. ICE, et al., 1/11/24)
No Fault/Technical Reasons: A Chronicle of Misfeasance Exposed
AILA Law Journal author Martin Robles-Avila highlights how a flawed rulemaking process has affected Nonimmigrant Status breaches and a quandary business immigration practitioners often find themselves in determining whether a client is eligible for adjustment of status.
FOIA Behind the Scenes – How USCIS and DOS Process Immigration-Related Requests
AILA member Alexandra Zaretsky describes how the International Refugee Assistance Project decided to find out how USCIS and the State Department process FOIA requests by filing a “meta-FOIA“ which unearthed some questionable agency policies of potential interest to others.
EOIR Announces 2024 Model Hearing Program
EOIR will continue its Model Hearing Program and host a series of events nationwide to provide substantive law and practical training on human trafficking, juveniles, adjustment of status, and special immigrant juvenile status. Notice includes in-person and hybrid events for January 2024.
Michigan Chapter: ICE ERO Contact List (1/9/24)
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit contact list as of 1/9/24 – detained and non-detained.
Practice Alert: ICE Online Portal Stakeholder Engagement Notes
AILA’s National ICE Liaison Committee provides notes from a stakeholder engagement on ICE’s new Online Portal held on December 7, 2023.
2023 ICE Annual Report: Key Takeaways
ICE released the agency’s FY2023 annual report. The lengthy report summarized the agency’s primary focus areas and provided an appendix containing a summary of ICE removals by country of citizenship. AILA provides a summary of key takeaways for OPLA, ERO, and HSI.
Department of the Treasury Notice on Interest Rate for Immigration Bonds
Department of the Treasury notice that for the period beginning 1/1/24 and ending 3/31/24, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Immigration Bond interest rate is 3 per centum per annum. (89 FR 986, 1/8/24)