Advocating for Clients in Removal Proceedings Using the OPLA Prosecutorial Discretion Memo

Cristina Velez, Anita Gupta, June 21, 2021

"ICE enforcement priorities have changed under the Biden administration, signaling a return to the use of prosecutorial discretion. On May 27, 2021, the ICE Principal Legal Advisor issued guidance for OPLA attorneys about how and when to exercise prosecutorial discretion during various stages of removal proceedings. EOIR subsequently issued its own memo discussing EOIR policies related to the enforcement priorities. Building upon our previous practice advisory, Advocating for Clients under the Biden Administration’s Interim Enforcement Priorities, this practice alert from ILRC and NIPNLG provides immigration practitioners with a summary of the OPLA and EOIR guidance, including key information, practice tips, and takeaways.

Publication of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild (NIPNLG) and Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), 2021. This practice advisory is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). The advisory is intended for authorized legal counsel and is not a substitute for independent legal advice provided by legal counsel familiar with a client’s case. Counsel should independently confirm whether the law has changed since the date of this publication. The authors of this practice advisory are Cristina Velez, NIPNLG, and Anita Gupta, ILRC."