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
CA9 Holds That Petitioner’s Oregon Conviction for Manufacture of a Controlled Substance Was an Aggravated Felony
The court held that Oregon Revised Statute §475.992(1)(a) is divisible as between its “manufacture” and “delivery” terms, and that the petitioner’s conviction under that statute for manufacturing marijuana was thus an aggravated felony. (Dominguez v. Barr, 7/21/20, amended 9/18/20)
CA9 Says Conviction Under California Penal Code §245(a)(1) for Assault with a Deadly Weapon Other Than a Firearm Is a CIMT
Deferring to the BIA’s decision in Matter of Wu, the court held that a conviction under California Penal Code §245(a)(1), which proscribes certain aggravated forms of assault, is categorically a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). (Safaryan v. Barr, 9/17/20)
CA9 Finds Petitioner Was Properly in Asylum-Only Proceedings and IJ Lacked Jurisdiction to Consider Adjustment of Status Request
The court held that the termination of petitioner’s grant of asylum by reopening his asylum-only proceedings was not error, and that the IJ did not have jurisdiction to consider his request for adjustment of status because of the limited scope of such proceedings. (Bare v. Barr, 9/16/20)
AILA and Partners Send Letter Urging Congressional Leaders to Reject Extra Funding for CBP and ICE
AILA joined over 200 organizations in sending a letter urging congressional leaders to reject any anomalies or any other funding mechanisms that would increase funding for CBP or ICE in a FY2021 Continuing Resolution, stating that “filling these agencies’ coffers” even higher “would be reckless.”
EOIR Resumes Hearings in Non-Detained Cases at the Charlotte, Denver, and Orlando Immigration Courts
EOIR announced that it resumed non-detained individual (merits) hearings and master calendar dockets involving small number of respondents at the Charlotte, Denver, and Orlando immigration courts on September 14, 2020. The option to file by email at these courts will end on November 13, 2020.
TRAC Says It Will Release New Asylum Data, But Urges Caution with EOIR Data
TRAC announced it will again release data through its asylum tool, but notes that records are still missing from the data it receives from EOIR. TRAC says there is evidence that EOIR is mismanaging or misrepresenting the data it uses to evaluate IJs’ performance, support policy changes, and more.
Organizations Call for Immediate Investigation into Reports of Unnecessary Procedures and Inadequate Care in ICE Facility
In a joint statement, AILA and the American Immigration Council respond to reports of inadequate medical care and unnecessary hysterectomies in ICE detention.
CA1 Upholds Asylum Denial to Honduran Petitioner Who Feared Attacks Motivated by His Father’s Gang Affiliation
The court held that the petitioner did not meet his burden of showing that the government of Honduras was unwilling or unable to protect him, where the evidence in the record indicated that the police had investigated the threats and attacks against him. (Gómez-Medina v. Barr, 9/15/20)
CA3 Finds District Court Lacked Jurisdiction to Review Appellant’s Challenges to the Execution of His Removal Order
Where the appellant had raised two challenges to the execution of his removal order, the court found that he had pursued his claims in the wrong proceeding, and reversed and remanded to the district court with instructions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. (Tazu v. Att’y Gen., 9/14/20)
Senators Announce GAO Investigation of the Politicization and Mismanagement of Immigration Courts
On September 14, 2020, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) announced that the GAO will investigate the politicization of the immigration courts under the Trump administration and EOIR’s mismanagement of the immigration courts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CA5 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Chinese Petitioner Who Claimed He Had an Anti-Corruption Political Belief
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of asylum to the Chinese petitioner, finding that the evidence did not compel a reasonable factfinder to conclude that the petitioner had been persecuted for his political opinion rather than for personal reasons. (Du v. Barr, 9/14/20)
CA9 Finds Record Showed That Salvadoran Government Was Unable to Control Gang’s Deadly Violence
The court held that substantial evidence did not support the BIA’s conclusion that the government of El Salvador was willing and able to control the Mara-18 gang that attacked the petitioner and killed his son, and found that the gang continues to be a threat. (J.R. v. Barr, 9/11/20)
CA9 Vacates Injunction Barring ICE from Issuing Detainers Based Solely on Electronic Database Checks
The court reversed and vacated the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California’s injunction barring ICE from issuing detainers based solely on searches of electronic databases to make probable cause determinations of removability. (Gonzalez, et al. v. ICE, et al., 9/11/20)
DHS Proposed Rule on Use and Collection of Biometrics
DHS proposed rule on the use and collection of biometrics in the enforcement and administration of immigration laws. Comments on the rule are due on 10/13/20, with comments on associated proposed form revisions due 11/10/20. (85 FR 56338, 9/11/20)
CA9 Holds BIA Applied Incorrect Standard When Reviewing IJ’s Factual Findings Related to Mexican Petitioner’s CAT Application
The court held that the BIA erred by not reviewing the IJ’s factual findings for clear error, as required by 8 CFR §1003.1(d)(3)(i), when it reversed the IJ’s grant of deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). (Guerra v. Barr, 3/3/20, amended 9/11/20)
TRAC Releases Report on Administrative Closure
TRAC analyzed historical data on EOIR administrative closures, and found that EOIR significantly misrepresented the data it used to justify its August 2020 proposed rule to eliminate administrative closure. Per TRAC, far from contributing to the backlog, administrative closure has helped reduce it.
Resources Relating to Minnesota Class Action Lawsuit Challenging Matter of Castro-Tum
The plaintiffs submitted a memorandum in opposition to the defendants’ motion to dismiss, arguing that the INA does not prohibit the court from exercising jurisdiction over the subject matter of the plaintiffs’ amended complaint. (Lopez, et al. v. Barr, et al., 9/4/20)
CA8 Upholds Denial of CAT Relief to Bangladeshi Petitioner Who Converted to Christianity
Upholding the denial of deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), the court held that the BIA did not err in determining that the petitioner had failed to show he would more likely than not be tortured if removed to Bangladesh. (Ahmed v. Barr, 9/4/20)
MALDEF Files Lawsuit Alleging That Acting DHS Secretary Wolf’s DACA Memo Is Unlawful
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) filed a lawsuit in federal district court seeking to enjoin and vacate Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf’s July 28, 2020, memo imposing changes to the DACA program. (Santa Fe Dreamers Project, et al., v. Wolf, et al., 9/3/20)
DHS OIG Says CBP Should Award a Medical Services Contract Quickly to Ensure No Gap in Service
DHS OIG released a management alert stating that CBP’s current contract for medical services expires on 9/29/20, and that as of 9/3/20, CBP had not issued a solicitation for a new contract. A lapse in the contract, per the alert, “could jeopardize the health and safety of migrants in CBP custody.”
CA7 Rejects Castro-Tum and Holds That IJs Are Not Precluded from Administratively Closing Cases When Appropriate
The court rejected Matter of Castro-Tum’s conclusion that administrative closure is not within an IJ’s authority to take “any action” appropriate and necessary for the disposition of cases pursuant to 8 CFR §1003.10(b). (Meza Morales v. Barr, 6/26/20, amended 9/3/20)
EOIR to Resume Hearings in Non-Detained Cases at the Salt Lake City Immigration Court
EOIR announced that will resume non-detained individual hearings and master calendar dockets involving relatively small number of respondents at the Salt Lake City Immigration Court on September 8, 2020. The option to file by email at this court will end on November 8, 2020.
CA3 Upholds Asylum Denial After Finding Syrian Militia Is a Tier III Terrorist Organization Under INA §212(a)(3)(B)(vi)(III)
The court upheld the denial of asylum to the petitioner, who fled involuntary military service in a government-controlled militia in Syria, finding that the militia was not beyond the scope of the Tier III provision under INA §212(a)(3)(B)(vi)(III). (A.A. v. Att’y Gen., 9/2/20)
CA4 Finds Petitioner Failed to Establish That Salvadoran Government Was Unable or Unwilling to Control MS-13
Finding that the record did not compel the conclusion that the Salvadoran government was unwilling or unable to control the MS-13 gang, the court upheld the IJ and BIA’s conclusion that the petitioner did not qualify as a refugee under INA §101(a)(42)(A). (Portillo-Flores v. Barr, 9/2/20)
CA3 Rejects Due Process Claims of Mexican Petitioner Who Sought Cancellation of Removal
Where BIA had dismissed petitioner’s appeal on the ground that his removal would not cause his daughters “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship,” the court rejected his two due process challenges, finding that neither was a constitutional claim. (Hernandez-Morales v. Att’y Gen., 9/2/20)