The bottom line. HHS plans to award up to $150 million to Burke Law Group, a Houston-based firm, to provide legal orientation and representation for eligible unaccompanied alien children in immigration proceedings, with a proposed period of performance from August 15, 2026 to August 14, 2027.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), announced its intent to award a single-source cooperative agreement of up to $150,000,000 to Burke Law Group, PLLC, a law firm headquartered in Houston, Texas. The notice was published in the Federal Register.
The proposed award would fund legal orientation, legal consultation, and attorney-of-record representation for eligible unaccompanied alien children (UACs) during proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) and hearings before U.S. citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) while children remain in ORR care. It also includes limited discharge-related legal continuity planning and referral support for children exiting ORR care.
"Instead of taking care of these children, the government is instead implementing things such as awarding a contract to a private small law firm in Texas with no discernible experience in relevant immigration law or child welfare," said Roxana Avila-Cimpeanu, deputy director of the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project.
Scope and Authority
The award is authorized under Section 462 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279) and the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232(c)(4) and (c)(5)), which require HHS, to the greatest extent practicable, to ensure that UACs have counsel to represent them in legal proceedings. The notice also cites 45 CFR 410.1309(a) and a preliminary injunction in Community Legal Services In East Palo Alto, et. al. v. HHS, et. al., No. 4:25-cv-02847 (N.D. Cal.).
Firm Profile and Administration Ties
Burke Law Group specializes in advising companies on environmental, regulatory, and enforcement matters, according to its website. Of its 24 attorneys, only two specialize in immigration and asylum cases. A co-founder, Marcella Burke, served in the first Trump administration at the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. Founding partner Jeffrey Hall currently serves as an assistant administrator at the EPA.
Context and Gaps
The proposed award comes after a contract with a group of nearly 100 legal nonprofits to do similar work expired on Friday. The Trump administration had stopped paying those legal nonprofits back in November, when lawyers refused to turn over confidential information about the children. The lawyers say the federal government owes them $65 million and there is an ongoing lawsuit over this issue. The contract only covers about 1,800 children in shelters, a nonprofit that represented the minors told reporters. It's unclear what will happen to the nearly 22,000 children who are not in HHS shelters. The proposed contract with Burke Law Group is supposed to go into effect on Aug. 15, leaving a two week gap. Lukens said his organization and other nonprofits have continued to provide legal services "because that is our mission and our ethical obligation." He and other organizations told reporters they will continue to do so for free for now, or until they lose all the few resources they have left.
What This Means Right Now
Eligible unaccompanied children in ORR care may receive legal orientation, consultation, and representation from Burke Law Group during immigration proceedings, subject to the award being finalized.
Children exiting ORR care may receive limited legal continuity planning and referral support to connect with post-discharge legal resources.
Nonprofit legal service providers that previously held the contract have stated they will continue services voluntarily for the time being, though the two-week gap before the proposed award's start date may affect coverage.
The award's scope is limited to children in ORR shelters; the status of legal representation for the larger population of unaccompanied children not in HHS shelters remains unresolved.