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
CA1 Vacates District Court’s Class-Wide Injunction in Case Challenging Bond Procedures Under INA §236A
In a class action challenging bond procedures used to detain noncitizens during the pendency of removal proceedings under INA §236A, the court held that the district court lacked jurisdiction to issue an injunction in favor of the class. (Pereira Brito, et al. v. Garland, et al., 12/28/21)
Third Delay of Effective Date of Final Rule on Pandemic-Related Security Bars to Asylum and Withholding of Removal
USCIS and EOIR interim final rule further delaying until 12/31/22 the effective date of the final rule “Security Bars and Processing” (85 FR 84160, 12/23/20). Comments on the extension of the effective date as well as the possibility of a further extension are due 2/28/22. (86 FR 73615, 12/28/21)
AILA and Partners Submit Amicus Brief on the Interpretation of Child Endangerment
AILA and partners submitted a brief in Marquez v. Garland arguing that the Board’s interpretation reading of child abuse, child neglect, and child abandonment encompasses negligent child-endangerment and is overboard; thereby, the court should grant the petition for rehearing en banc.
CLINIC Provides Comparison Table of Prior and Current Versions of EOIR’s Immigration Court Practice Manual
CLINIC provides a comparison table that briefly summarizes some of the key changes between the prior version of the EOIR Immigration Court Practice Manual, published in February 2008, and the current version, released in December 2020.
CA3 Reinstates IJ’s Grant of CAT Relief to Guatemalan Petitioner Where BIA Exceeded Its Proper Scope of Review
Where the BIA had reversed the IJ’s decision granting the Guatemalan petitioner Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief, the court held that BIA erred by inserting itself into the factfinder role and disagreeing with the IJ’s weighing of the evidence. (Arreaga-Bravo v. Att’y Gen., 12/23/21)
Practice Alert: EOIR Provides Rotating IJ Schedules Through Regional Public Information Officers
EOIR has resumed providing rotating schedules for immigration judges through its regional public information officers.
CRS Provides Year-End Report on Apprehensions and Expulsions at the Southwest Border
CRS provided the FY2021 report on apprehensions and expulsions at the southwest border. The report includes current border enforcement policies, encounters by demographic category, encounters by country of citizenship, and more.
CA3 Finds Congolese Asylum Seeker’s Fear of Returning to the DRC Was Objectively Reasonable
Granting the petition for review, the court held that the record compelled a finding that the risks petitioner faced upon return to the Democratic Republic of the Congo were sufficient to give rise to an objectively reasonable fear of future persecution. (Nsimba v. Att’y Gen., 12/22/21)
CA9 Holds That “An Offense” in INA §240A(b)(1)(C) Includes “Multiple Criminal Convictions” Described in INA §212(a)(2)(B)
Denying the petition for review, the court held that the phrase “an offense” in the cancellation of removal statute at INA §240A(b)(1)(C) includes the “[m]ultiple criminal convictions” described in INA §212(a)(2)(B) that render a noncitizen inadmissible.(Ramirez-Medina v. Garland, 12/22/21)
CA9 Concludes That Petitioner’s Two Arizona Convictions for Marijuana-Related Offenses Were Not CIMTs
The court held that Arizona Revised Statutes §13-3405(A)(4) was overbroad and divisible and that petitioner’s convictions, which concerned categories in the statute involving the smallest quantity of marijuana, were not crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs). (Walcott v. Garland, 12/22/21)
CA9 Finds That BIA Sufficiently Considered Petitioner’s CAT Claim and Provided Adequate Rationale for Its Rejection
The court held that the BIA had sufficiently considered the relevant record evidence regarding the petitioner’s claim for deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and had provided an adequate rationale for rejecting that claim. (Rodriguez-Jimenez v. Garland, 12/21/21)
DHS Releases Statement on Seeking Support Regardless of Immigration Status After Severe Weather in the South and Midwest
DHS announced it is monitoring areas affected by the severe weather and tornadoes in Kentucky and throughout the South and Midwest, stating that sites that provide emergency response and relief are considered protected areas for purposes of ICE and CBP enforcement actions.
DHS Announces Use of Body Worn Cameras in New ICE Pilot Program
DHS announced that ICE law enforcement officers in select cities will begin wearing body worn cameras for pre-planned operations. The body worn camera will be mounted on an officer’s or agent’s outerwear. Footage may be used to assess police conduct and for non-investigative purposes.
CA3 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review BIA’s Decision Not to Waive Limitations Period for VAWA-Based Motion to Reopen
The court concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to review the petitioner’s Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)-based motion to reopen, finding that the BIA’s decision not to waive the one-year limitations period for filing the motion was a discretionary one. (Yasin v. Att’y Gen., 12/20/21)
EOIR Updates Number of Board Members in Part III of the Policy Manual
EOIR updated Part III, Chapter 1.3 of the EOIR Policy Manual to state that the board consists of 23 members, including a Chairman and up to two Vice Chairmen.
CA2 Remands for BIA to Clarify Effect of IJ’s Inadmissibility Finding Made in Proceeding in Which Application Was Withdrawn
The court remanded for the BIA to explain what, if any, preclusive effect the IJ’s finding of inadmissibility—seemingly affirmed by the BIA despite the withdrawal of the petitioner’s application for admission—would be given in subsequent immigration proceedings. (Juras v. Garland, 12/17/21)
CA5 Finds Adverse Credibility Determination Was Supported by Substantial Evidence Apart from Inter-Proceeding Evidence
Despite misgivings about the IJ’s reliance on inter-proceeding evidence under Matter of R-K-K-, the court held that the IJ’s adverse credibility finding was supported by substantial evidence, and that the petitioner’s due process claims lacked merit. (Singh v. Garland, 12/17/21)
CA8 Finds BIA Applied Correct Legal Standard in Conducting Exceptional and Extremely Unusual Hardship Inquiry
Upholding the BIA’s denial of cancellation of removal, the court held that the BIA conducted an exceptional and extremely unusual hardship analysis that was future oriented, and did not focus solely on the current conditions of the petitioner’s daughter. (Garcia-Ortiz v. Garland, 12/17/21)
EOIR Announces 22 New Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the appointment of 22 new immigration judges (IJs) by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, including five Unit Chief Immigration Judges (UCIJs). Biographical information has been provided for each of them.
Congress Calls for Increased Oversight At CoreCivic Detention Facility In Torrance County
U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and U.S. Representatives Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) and Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) are calling on DHS officials to increase oversight on CoreCivic’s management of the Torrance County Detention Facility.
EOIR Amends PM 21-18 on Filing Deadlines in Non-Detained Cases
EOIR amended policy memorandum 21-18 to state that in cases involving non-detained respondents, amendments to applications and other supplemental filings can be submitted up to 15 days before individual calendar hearings, unless the immigration judge specifies otherwise. Effective 12/16/21.
CA9 Holds That an Individual’s Inadmissible Status Renders Their Reentry Illegal Regardless of Its Manner
The en banc court held that the petitioner, an inadmissible and previously deported noncitizen who was mistakenly waved into the United States by a border official, had illegally reentered the country within the meaning of INA §241(a)(5). (Tomczyk v. Garland, 12/14/21)
CA9 Declines to Rehear Alcaraz-Enriquez v. Garland En Banc
The court issued an order denying rehearing en banc of Alcaraz-Enriquez v. Garland, in which the court held that the BIA erred by relying on a probation report to conclude that the petitioner had been convicted of a particularly serious crime. (Alcaraz-Enriquez v. Garland, 12/14/21)
CA1 Upholds CAT Denial to Petitioner Who Claimed He Would Be Subject to Torture While “Imprisoned” in Haiti as a Criminal Deportee
Upholding the denial of petitioner’s Convention Against Torture (CAT) claim, the court found that expert testimony concerning treatment in Haiti of criminal deportees did not address whether petitioner was more likely than not to be held in prolonged detention. (Bonnet v. Garland, 12/13/21)
EOIR Final Rule Implementing Mandatory E-Filing
EOIR final rule implementing mandatory electronic filing (e-filing) for cases before the immigration courts and the BIA. The rule also makes changes to the regulations regarding law student filing and accompaniment procedures. The rule is effective 2/11/22. (86 FR 70708, 12/13/21)