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
CA8 Finds Guatemalan Humanitarian Asylum Applicants Failed to Show Past Persecution Based on a Protected Ground
The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying the petitioners’ request for humanitarian asylum, because the petitioners had failed to make an initial showing of refugee status by connecting their past persecution to a protected ground. (Mejia-Lopez v. Barr, 12/11/19)
CA8 Upholds Denial of Application for Withholding of Removal Based on Petitioner’s Membership in His Family
The court held that substantial evidence in the record supported the IJ and BIA’s finding that the petitioner had failed to establish a clear probability that he would suffer persecution in Mexico on account of his membership in his family. (De La Rosa Garcia v. Barr, 12/10/19)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Motion to Reopen Based on Changed Country Conditions in China Regarding Religious Persecution
The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying as untimely the petitioner’s motion to reopen, because the evidence in the record showed that religious persecution in China had not sufficiently increased since the petitioner’s hearing in 2011. (Lin v. Barr, 12/10/19)
USCIS Issues Guidance Implementing AG’s Decisions on Post-Sentencing Changes and Impact of DUI Convictions on Good Moral Character Determination
USCIS issued a policy alert incorporating the AG’s decisions in Matter of Thomas and Thompson regarding how post-sentencing changes impact a conviction for immigration purposes and Matter of Castillo-Perez regarding how two or more DUI convictions affect GMC determinations.
AILA Submit Amicus Brief to the Ninth Circuit on the Term “Crime of Child Abuse”
AILA submitted an amicus brief to the Ninth Circuit in Blanco-Hernandez v. Barr urging the court to uphold the Supreme Court’s opinion in Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions on the interpretation of the term “crime of child abuse” as it relates to consensual sex with a person 16 or older.
BIA Rules That Torturous Conduct by a Public Official Not Acting in an Official Capacity Is Not Covered by CAT
BIA ruled that only torturous conduct committed by a public official acting “in an official capacity” “under color of law” is covered by CAT. Conduct by an official not acting in an official capacity is not covered by the Convention. Matter of O-F-A-S-, 27 I&N Dec. 709 (BIA 2019)
TRAC Report Shows ICE Detains Fewer Immigrants with Serious Criminal Convictions Under Trump Administration
TRAC found that despite the growth of ICE detention, the number of detainees with serious criminal convictions has been falling steadily since 2017. Further, data showed that gang violence, terrorism, election fraud - convictions often associated with undocumented migrants - are remarkably rare.
BIA Finds New York Firearm Definition Includes Antique Firearms
Unpublished BIA decision holds criminal sale of a firearm under N.Y.P.L. 265.11(1) not a firearms offense or aggravated felony because it applies to loaded antique firearms. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of H-A-T-M-, 12/6/19)
BIA Reverses Finding of Fraud in Employment-Based Visa Petition
Unpublished BIA decision reverses finding that respondent made material misrepresentation by signing Form I-485 accompanying fraudulent visa petition because application did not state that he had to be currently employed by petitioner. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Park, 12/6/19)
BIA Gives Effect to Pardon Issued by Connecticut Parole Board
Unpublished BIA decision holds that grant of full and absolute pardon by Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles is equivalent to pardon from state governor. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Walton, 12/5/19)
GAO Study Shows ICE Arrests, Detentions, and Removals Increased from 2015 to 2018
A GAO study shows that the number of ICE arrests, detentions, and removals increased from 2015–18. Men from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, and convicted criminals accounted for the majority of ICE arrests. Detentions of transgender, pregnant, and disabled individuals also increased.
ACLU Files Lawsuit Challenging Expedited Removal Pilot Program
The ACLU of Texas, the ACLU National, and the ACLU of DC filed a lawsuit challenging an “expedited removal” pilot program used to hold asylum seekers in CBP facilities without effective access to attorneys before they are removed. (Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center v. Wolf, 12/5/19)
AILA Submits Amicus Brief to BIA on the Term “Crime of Child Abuse”
AILA submitted an amicus brief urging the BIA to hold the Supreme Court’s opinion in Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions on the interpretation of the term “crime of child abuse” as it relates to consensual sex with a person 16 or older.
CA5 Upholds Asylum Denial to Honduran Woman Who Was Harassed by Gang Members After Her Brother’s Murder
The court upheld the denial of asylum, finding that there was substantial evidence to conclude that the hardships petitioner had experienced in Honduras following her brother’s murder—namely, threats and men following her—did not constitute past persecution. (Martinez-Lopez v. Barr, 12/4/19)
Practice Advisory: Pereira v. Sessions – Updated Strategies and Considerations
The U.S. Supreme Court held in Pereira v. Sessions that service of a defective NTA does not cut off eligibility for cancellation of removal. This CLINIC practice advisory provides practitioners with strategies and considerations based on the Pereira holding and rationale.
CA11 Says “Women in Mexico Who Are Unable to Leave Their Domestic Relationships” Is Not a Cognizable Particular Social Group
The court held that, in light of the Attorney General’s 2018 decision in Matter of A-B-, “women in Mexico who are unable to leave their domestic relationships” was not a cognizable particular social group under the INA. (Amezcua-Preciado v. Att’y Gen., 12/3/19)
CA2 Finds New York Conviction for Attempted Sexual Conduct with a Minor Under 15 Was an Aggravated Felony
The court held that the petitioner’s conviction under New York law for attempted oral or anal sexual conduct with a person under the age of 15 was a conviction constituting sexual abuse of a minor, and was thus an aggravated felony under INA §227(a)(2)(A)(iii). (Acevedo v. Barr, 12/3/19)
ICE Opening New Detention Facility in West Texas
ICE announced that it is opening the Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas, the week of December 9, 2019. The facility, which will be managed by Management and Training Corporation (MTC), will house about 1,000 ICE detainees as they await outcomes of their immigration proceedings or removal.
EOIR Provides Guidance on the Phase-Out of the Interactive Scheduling System
Obtained via FOIA, EOIR provides the guidance to EOIR staff regarding the phase-out of the Interactive Scheduling System and replacement by the DHS Portal to schedule Notices to Appear. Special thanks to Aaron Hall.
ICE Provides Guidance on the Phase-Out of the Interactive Scheduling System
Obtained via FOIA, ICE provided the guidance to ICE staff regarding the phase-out of the Interactive Scheduling System and replacement by the DHS Portal to schedule Notices to Appear. The Portal replaced CASE-ISS as of August 2019. Special thanks to Aaron Hall.
AILA and the Council Send Follow-Up Letter Regarding Complaint Highlighting Due Process Violations at the El Paso Immigration Court
AILA and the Council sent a letter to DOJ’s EOIR, OIG, and OPR asking for an update about any changes EOIR has made regarding standing orders and about any investigations, disciplinary measures, or systematic changes at the El Paso SPC Court that may have occurred as a result of the prior complaint.
Immigrants Rising Releases Report Analyzing a Decade of Legal Intakes From Undocumented Immigrants
Immigrants Rising released a report analyzing ten years of legal intakes for almost 3,000 undocumented immigrants. Among other things, the report found that 21 percent of respondents were potentially eligible for permanent relief, and that 93 percent would be eligible for relief under the Dream Act.
BIA States Motions to Reissue Are Distinct from Motions to Reopen
Unpublished BIA decision states that motions to reissue are distinct from motions to reopen. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Sanchez-Garcia, 11/29/19)
BIA Holds Florida Theft Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that theft under Fla. Stat. Ann. 812.014 is not a CIMT because plain language of statute criminalizes the temporary taking of property without requiring a substantial deprivation to the owner. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ramos Bauza, 11/29/19)
District Court Holds Government Bears Burden of Proof in Justifying a Noncitizen’s Detention at INA §236(a) Bond Hearings
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts held that the BIA’s policy of placing the burden of proof on the noncitizen at INA §236(a) bond hearings violates due process and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). (Brito, et al. v. Barr, et al., 11/27/19)