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
Featured Issue: Establishing a Fair and Independent Immigration Court
Immigration courts face a profound structural problem—they operate under DOJ and are therefore extremely vulnerable to political interference. This page collects resources, updates, and opportunities to advocate for establishing an independent immigration court with the Real Courts, Rule of Law Act.
Think Immigration: From Funding Fights to Accountability - AILA’s Work to Confront ICE and Border Patrol Abuses
AILA Government Relations Coordinator Joshua Rodriguez describes the ways AILA and members have remained dedicated and determined to defend the rights of immigrants amid growing unlawful abuses by ICE and Border Patrol.
EOIR Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Allowing Immigration Judges to Impose Monetary Penalties for Findings of Contempt
EOIR NPRM that would allow immigration judges to impose monetary penalties on individuals who are found in contempt. The proposed rule states that monetary penalties could be imposed on attorneys, defendants, and witnesses present in the courtroom. Comments are due 9/28/26. (91 FR 47979, 7/30/26)
Think Immigration: Teaching in the Storm: Running an Immigration Clinic While Due Process and the Rule of Law Are Under Attack
AILA Rule of Law Task Force Member Kate Melloy Goettel describes how immigration law clinics today must navigate a rapidly changing legal landscape where due process and procedural guarantees are under attack, challenging both students and educators to adapt and maintain commitment to justice.
CA9 Holds That Age-Based PSGs Are Immutable as a Matter of Law and BIA Must Review Nexus Determinations De Novo
The court held that age-based particular social groups are immutable as a matter of law because asylum applicants cannot alter their age to escape persecution, and that the BIA erred in reviewing the IJ’s nexus finding for clear error rather than de novo. (Garcia Demetrio v. Blanche, 7/20/26)
USCIS Interim Final Rule on Affirmative Asylum Referrals Without Interview
USCIS interim final rule allowing asylum officers to refer certain asylum applications to EOIR without conducting an asylum interview. The rule is effective 7/28/26. Comments are due 9/28/26. (91 FR 47101, 7/28/26)
Practice Alert: Reports of Arrests at USCIS Asylum Office Interviews
AILA has received recent reports of DHS enforcement actions at USCIS asylum offices. In some cases, clients had criminal convictions or other past criminal issues, but in others there were no apparent criminal issues or other factors indicating why the person was targeted for arrest.
BIA Holds That Flight Risk Includes Likelihood of Compliance with Future Orders and Speculative Relief Eligibility Does Not Diminish It
The BIA held that flight risk encompasses not only whether the noncitizen will appear at future hearings but also whether they will comply with future orders, and that speculative eligibility for relief does not materially diminish flight risk. Matter of A–L–S–, 29 I&N Dec. 794 (BIA 2026)
The Hill: New Rule Could Speed Deportation of Asylum Seekers
The Hill reports a new USCIS rule will allow asylum officers to refer certain asylum applications to immigration court without conducting an asylum interview. AILA Executive Director Ben Johnson said, “This is one more nail the Administration has hammered into the coffin of the U.S. asylum system.”
New York Times: ICE Arrests Surge at Airports, Opening New Front in Deportation Drive
The New York Times reports on ICE arresting people at airports during domestic travel, including those with pending immigration applications. AILA Chicago Chapter Vice Chair Shannon Shepherd said she and other lawyers are now revising longstanding advice for clients about domestic air travel.
USCIS Announces IFR Allowing Officers to Refer Asylum Applicants to EOIR Without Interview
USCIS announced an upcoming interim final rule (IFR), to be published in the Federal Register on 7/28/26, allowing asylum officers to refer applicants to immigration court without first interviewing them. The rule will be in effect as of publication. An advance copy is available.
Practice Alert: Reports of Increased Detention at U.S. Airports for Individuals Traveling Domestically
AILA has received a number of reports over the past few days of individuals without lawful status, including those in a period of authorized stay based on pending applications, being detained at airports across the country while traveling domestically.
BIA Holds That Failure to Pay Annual Asylum Fee Is Fatal to Asylum Application but Does Not Extend to Withholding or CAT Protection
The BIA held that an asylum application should be pretermitted or deemed abandoned for failure to pay the annual asylum fee by the prescribed deadline, but that the fee and consequences for nonpayment do not extend to withholding or CAT protection. Matter of L–F–R–, 29 I&N Dec. 787 (BIA 2026)
CA4 Holds Deferred Enforced Departure Is Not an Immigration Status for LPR Cancellation’s Seven-Year Residence Requirement
The court held that Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) is not an immigration status, so even if petitioner was admitted when she returned under DED, she was not “admitted in any status” under INA §240A(a)(2) and did not meet the seven-year residence requirement. (Cisneros v. Blanche, 7/17/26)
CA1 Finds Record Compelled Finding of Indicia of Incompetency Requiring IJ to Conduct Competency Inquiry
The court held that the record compelled a finding of indicia of incompetency requiring further inquiry under Matter of M–A–M–, where the petitioner had head trauma and a psychologist reported his ability to assist his attorney and the court was compromised. (Rana v. Blanche, 7/23/26)
CA9 Holds That Oregon Felony Fourth-Degree Assault Witnessed by Minor Child Is a Crime of Child Abuse, Neglect, or Abandonment
The court held that the petitioner’s Oregon conviction for felony fourth-degree assault for battering his wife in front of their minor children was a crime of child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment under INA §237(a)(2)(E)(i). (Diaz-Boyzo v. Blanche, 7/23/26)
BIA Holds That IJ May Draw Adverse Inferences from Fifth Amendment Invocation and Unlawful Voting Is a Significant Adverse Factor
The BIA held that an IJ may draw reasonable adverse inferences from a respondent's invocation of the Fifth Amendment on questions material to discretionary relief, and that unlawful voting is a significant adverse factor. Matter of Lopez Rico, 29 I&N Dec. 780 (BIA 2026)
CA9 Holds That Child Who Turns 21 During BIA Appeal Is No Longer a Qualifying Relative for Cancellation of Removal
The court held that INA §240A(b)(1)(D) requires assessing qualifying relatives as of the agency’s final adjudication, and found that a child who turned 21 during petitioner’s BIA appeal could no longer support their eligibility for cancellation of removal. (Torres-Casas v. Blanche, 7/22/26)
EOIR Announces Closure of Batavia Immigration Court on 7/24/26
EOIR announced it will close the Batavia Immigration Court at close of business on 7/24/26. Pending cases will transfer to the Buffalo Immigration Court and will be heard via teleconference. Pleadings, motions, and correspondence should be filed with the Buffalo Court beginning 7/27/26.
EOIR Announces Regional Deputy Chief IJ, Administrative IJ, 37 IJs, and 4 Temporary IJs
EOIR announced the swearing in of a regional deputy chief immigration judge within the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge, an administrative law judge within the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer, 37 immigration judges, and 4 temporary immigration judges.
D.C. Circuit Allows Expansion of Expedited Removal
The D.C. Circuit granted the government's renewed motion in Make the Road New York v. Mullin to have the expanded expedited removal policy take effect immediately. The expansion designation is now unblocked and in effect. (Make the Road New York v. Mullin, 7/17/16)
BIA Holds That Leaving U.S. Citizen Child Without Parental Care Does Not Alone Create Exceptional and Extremely Unusual Hardship
The BIA held that a parent’s decision to leave a U.S. citizen child in the United States without parental care does not, on its own, create exceptional and extremely unusual hardship, and that parental care is not the only sufficient care. Matter of Lopez-Davila, 29 I&N Dec. 763 (BIA 2026)
CA4 Upholds Asylum Denial Where Gang’s Generalized Aim of More Members and More Money Did Not Supply the Required Nexus
The court held that substantial evidence supported findings that MS-13 targeted the petitioner to extort money and expand its ranks, not because of his youth or resistance to recruitment, and that any future harm would not occur with official acquiescence. (Flores-Turcios v. Blanche, 7/16/26)
BIA Holds That Motion to Reopen Based on Ineffective Assistance Must Include Bar Complaint and Proof of Filing or Explain Why None Was Filed
The BIA held that a motion to reopen based on ineffective assistance of counsel must include a copy of the bar complaint filed with disciplinary authorities and proof of the filing, or an explanation why a bar complaint was not filed. Matter of L–R–M–C– & V–A–M–M–, 29 I&N Dec. 757 (BIA 2026)
EOIR Issues Policy Memo on Public Access to EOIR Hearings
EOIR Director Daren Margolin issued a Policy Memorandum (PM 26-06) on public access to EOIR hearings. The memo outlines policy for providing public access to EOIR spaces, when immigration hearings may be closed, guidance for observing hearings, and reporting procedures for public access violations.