Office of the Principal Legal Advisor

About Office of the Principal Legal Advisor

The Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) is the legal program of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which sits within the Department of Homeland Security. It is the largest legal program in that department. Its attorneys serve as the government's representative in immigration removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, including cases involving noncitizens with criminal records, terrorism concerns, or alleged human rights abuses. It also advises ICE officers and other personnel on customs, criminal and immigration enforcement authorities.

OPLA's remit also covers Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act matters, ethics questions, Federal Tort Claims Act liability, and administrative law topics such as contract, fiscal and employment law. It represents the agency before the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and supports Justice Department prosecutions and federal court defense of ICE authorities. In New York State, the official ICE site lists OPLA offices in New York City (including 26 Federal Plaza and Varick Street), in Newburgh in the Hudson Valley, and in Buffalo, which covers northern and western New York.

Practice areas

Areas of work that Office of the Principal Legal Advisor describes on its own website. They describe the organization as a whole, not the practice of any individual attorney listed below.

Organization profile based on its official website and public sources (reviewed October 30, 2026). Attorney list from the New York State Unified Court System registration data. Not affiliated with Office of the Principal Legal Advisor.

Registered attorneys

Registration status can change at any time. Confirm any attorney's current status through the official New York Attorney Search.