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
CA5 Finds Substantial Evidence Supported IJ’s Adverse Credibility Determination as to LGBT Asylum Seeker from El Salvador
The court upheld the BIA’s finding that the IJ’s adverse credibility determination was not clearly erroneous under the totality of the circumstances, and found that the Salvadoran petitioner could not prevail on his due process claim. (Santos-Alvarado v. Barr, 7/21/20)
CA6 Finds BIA Failed to Consider Evidence of Russian Petitioner’s Threatened Prosecution in Assessing His Asylum Claim
Granting the petition for review, the court held that the BIA erred in disregarding evidence that the petitioner, who had engaged in anticorruption whistleblowing activities, would be criminally prosecuted for his political opinion if he was returned to Russia. (Skripkov v. Barr, 7/20/20)
EOIR 60-Day Notice and Request for Comments on New Form EOIR-59
EOIR 60-day notice and request for comments on proposed new Form EOIR-59, Certification and Release of Records, which will be used by parties who are or were in proceedings before EOIR to release their records to an attorney or other third party. Comments are due 9/15/20. (85 FR 43604, 7/17/20)
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland Orders DHS to Restore DACA
Judge Paul W. Grimm in the Maryland District Court vacated DACA’s rescission and enjoined DHS from implementing or enforcing the rescission and from taking any other action to rescind DACA that is not in compliance with applicable law. (Casa de Maryland, et al., v. DHS, et.al., 7/17/20)
DHS/DOJ Announce Plan to Restart MPP Hearings “As Expeditiously As Possible”
DHS and DOJ provide the criteria they will use to determine when they will resume MPP hearings. Once the criteria is met, they will provide public notification at least 15 calendar days prior to resumption of hearings with location-specific details
EOIR Announces 46 New Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the investiture of 46 new immigration judges, including three assistant chief immigration judges. Per EOIR, this brings the immigration judge corps to 509, which is the highest total ever. Notice includes the judges’ biographical information and courts of appointment.
AILA and Partners Urge DHS and ICE to Release Detained Families Together
AILA and other organizations sent a letter to DHS and ICE urging the immediate release of all families—parents together with their children—held at ICE family detention centers and to not use the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to deploy its family separation policy again.
AILA Submits Amicus Brief On What Crimes Should Be Considered a CIMT Assault Offense in Oregon
AILA submitted an amicus brief in Guzman-Pena v. Barr requesting the court to uphold Matter of Wu’s definition of what crimes are a generic CIMT assault offense and hold that ORS 163.185, which does not criminalize any injury to another, is overbroad to the generic crime of assault.
CA2 Finds Petitioners’ New York Firearms Convictions Were Not Removable Offenses
Applying the categorical approach, the court held that the BIA erred in finding the petitioners removable for having been convicted of a firearms offense under the INA, because their New York convictions criminalized conduct that the INA does not. (Jack v. Barr, 7/16/20)
EOIR to Resume Hearings in Non-Detained Cases at the Arlington Immigration Court
EOIR announced that it will resume non-detained individual (merits) hearings and master calendar dockets involving relatively small numbers of respondents at the Arlington Immigration Court on July 20, 2020. The option to file by email at the court will end on September 20, 2020.
DHS Inspector General Testifies on Children in CBP Custody
DHS IG Joseph V. Cuffari testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security on children in CBP custody. The testimony includes a discussion of conditions on the southwest border, investigations of deaths of children while in CBP custody, medical care procedures, and improper spending.
AILA, the Council, and the Justice Campaign Submit Comments Opposing Proposed Asylum Rule
AILA, the Council, and the Justice Campaign submitted joint comments opposing an EOIR/USCIS proposed rule on Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal; Credible Fear and Reasonable Fear Review. The rule will return vulnerable individuals who deserve protection to danger and potential death.
Attorney General Vacates BIA’s Decision in Matter of O-F-A-S-
Clarifying the proper approach for determining “official capacity” for the purpose of deciding CAT protection, the AG vacated the BIA’s decision in Matter of O-F-A-S-, 27 I&N Dec. 709 (BIA 2019), and remanded the case for review. Matter of O-F-A-S-, 28 I&N Dec. 35 (A.G. 2020)
GAO Says CBP Needs to Increase Oversight of Funds, Medical Care, and Reporting of Deaths
GAO found that CBP has consistently overlooked health screening policies for detainees and that it violated the law by using emergency funds to enhance detainees' medical care for other items. GAO also found that CBP lacks reliable data on deaths and did not report this data to Congress as directed.
Senators Urge DHS to Reopen DACA for New Applicants
On July 14, 2020, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) led a letter from 33 senators urging DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf to reopen DACA applications for new applicants following the Supreme Court’s rejection of the administration’s rescission of DACA.
BIA Rules On DHS’s Authority to Return Individuals to a Contiguous Foreign Territory Under MPP
BIA ruled that under INA §235(b)2(c), an individual who is arriving on land from a contiguous foreign territory may be returned by DHS to that country pursuant to MPP, regardless of whether the individual arrives at or between a designated POE. Matter of M-D-C-V-, 28 I&N Dec. 18 (BIA 2020)
CA11 Says BIA’s Application of Stop-Time Rule to Petitioner’s 1995 Conviction Was Impermissibly Retroactive
The court held that the BIA erred in retroactively applying the stop-time rule to the petitioner’s pre-Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA) conviction, and thus that he was eligible for cancellation of removal. (Rendon v. Att’y Gen., 7/14/20)
AILA and Partners Urge Senate Leaders to Extend Work Authorizations to Dreamers
AILA joined 182 national and local partners in urging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to include automatic extensions of employment authorization for DACA, TPS, and other work-authorized immigrants in the fourth COVID-19 legislative package.
CA2 Finds BIA Erred in Denying Petitioner’s Motion to Suppress Evidence of Her Alienage Without an Evidentiary Hearing
Applying the standard set in Cotzojay v. Holder to petitioner’s motion to suppress evidence, the court concluded that the petitioner had submitted sufficient evidence of an egregious Fourth Amendment violation to warrant an evidentiary hearing. (Millan-Hernandez v. Barr, 7/13/20)
The Roundtable of Former Immigration Judges Submits Comment on Proposed Plans to End Asylum
The Roundtable of Former Immigration Judges sent a letter to EOIR and USCIS opposing the proposed rule that would make multiple changes to regulations governing asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection. The Roundtable urge the departments to withdraw all sections of the proposed rule.
Class Action Lawsuit in Minnesota Challenges Matter of Castro-Tum
Plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit in federal district court on behalf of certain individuals in Minnesota who are ineligible to apply for a provisional unlawful presence waiver because their removal proceedings are not administratively closed. (Lopez, et al. v. Barr, et al., 7/13/20)
CA7 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Petitioner Who Feared Life as an Openly Gay Woman in Mexico
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of asylum to the Mexican petitioner, who sought relief based on threats of physical violence she had received because of her gay sexual orientation, concluding that substantial evidence supported the agency’s decision. (Escobedo Marquez v. Barr, 7/13/20)
CA4 Says Convictions for Leaving an Accident and Using False Identification in Virginia Are Not CIMTs
The court held that the petitioner’s convictions for leaving an accident in violation of Va. Code Ann. §46.2–894 and for using false identification in violation of Va. Code Ann. §18.2–186.3(B1) were not categorically crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs). (Nunez-Vasquez v. Barr, 7/13/20)
CA2 Holds That Changed Circumstances Under INA §208(a)(2)(D) Need Not Arise Prior to the Filing of an Asylum Application
Granting the petition for review, the court held that pursuant to INA §208(a)(2)(D), changed circumstances presenting an exception to the one-year deadline for filing an asylum application need not arise prior to the filing of the application. (Ordonez Azmen v. Barr, 7/13/20)
TRAC Finds More Immigration Judges Are Leaving the Bench
TRAC found that turnover among immigration judges is the highest in over two decades. During FY2019, 35 judges left the bench. TRAC also found more cases are being heard by judges with limited experience and that court backlog is nearly three times the level since the Trump administration began.