Burke Law Group Awarded $150 Million Contract to Represent Unaccompanied Minors

The Trump administration plans to award Burke Law Group a $150 million contract to represent unaccompanied migrant children beginning August 15, 2026, replacing a legal-services network that supported more than 20,000 children through nearly 100 organizations.

The one-year agreement would run through August 14, 2027. The Office of Refugee Resettlement, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, described the proposed arrangement as a single-source cooperative agreement.

The work covers children who remain in ORR custody. It includes proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

A Federal Register notice scheduled for August 6 identifies the services as “legal orientation, legal consultation, and attorney-of-record representation services for eligible unaccompanied alien children.” The notice is Document 2026-16081.

The Houston firm does not list immigration law as a practice area. Its listed specialties include administrative law, white-collar defense, commercial litigation, and securities litigation.

Its website listed 25 lawyers, but only two were described as having relevant immigration experience. Additional descriptions put the firm at approximately 26 employees across eight offices and say two of its 24–26 attorneys list experience in immigration or asylum cases.

The proposed award would shift representation away from the existing network

The agreement follows the expiration of the Acacia Center for Justice’s contract on July 31, 2026. Acacia managed a network of nearly 100 legal-service providers serving children in immigration proceedings.

The administration had withheld more than $65 million for work already completed. Providers said officials sought confidential client information as a condition for releasing the money.

The proposed reporting requirements included “client-level data that is confidential and legally privileged,” according to the legal providers. Acacia said the government was withholding payment “in order to extract confidential information about kids.”

Shaina Aber, executive director of Acacia, said ending the existing network “effectively dismantles” years of legal support. Nonprofits have begun filing lawsuits to recover the unpaid fees.

The funding dispute also affected operations. Some organizations furloughed staff, stopped accepting new cases, or prepared to leave the program.

Jennifer Podkul, chief of global policy and advocacy for Kids in Need of Defense, said the government owed her organization more than $25 million. She warned that the lapse could leave children without lawyers before immigration proceedings.

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, accused the administration of “withholding Congressionally-approved funding” and trying to cancel representation for “20,000 unaccompanied children.”

A small share of children would receive services under the new arrangement

The proposed contract primarily covers children still housed in government shelters. Roughly 1,800 children are in those facilities, while 22,000 live with sponsors, often family members.

The legal status of the children living with sponsors remains uncertain under the planned transition. The earlier network had served more than 20,000 children across both legal organizations and program sites.

Michael Lukens, executive director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, criticized the selection. He said, “We cannot have a random law firm entrusted to take care of children.”

Roxana Avila-Cimpeanu, deputy director of the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, said the government was hiring a firm with “no discernible experience in relevant immigration law.”

Alexa Sendukas, an attorney with the Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project, said: “Without a lawyer, unaccompanied children win the right to stay in the United States less than 1% of the time.”

The representation question extends beyond staffing. Advocates say federal agents visited several Washington-area nonprofit legal groups earlier in 2026, amid the administration’s broader immigration crackdown.

The selection comes amid ties to the administration and removal concerns

Marcella Burke founded the firm after serving as a Trump appointee at the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior during his first administration. Jeffrey Hall, a former partner, was recently appointed and confirmed to a senior role at the EPA.

Michael Lukens described the proposed transfer as a threat to due process. Advocacy groups also warned that a transition to a firm with limited immigration experience could lead to fast-tracked deportations.

A letter led by Rep. Veronica Escobar, TX-16, and the Texas Democratic Delegation urged HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to address concerns that the administration was preparing to relocate minors to Texas facilities for “imminent mass removals.”

The letter adds a separate layer to the contract dispute. Children could face a change in counsel while officials consider moving them between facilities.

HHS had not responded to multiple press requests for comment about the selection process as of August 5, 2026. The Federal Register notice lists Reina Byrd, assistant deputy director of the Unaccompanied Alien Children Bureau, as the agency contact.

The contract starts before the funding dispute is resolved

The planned start date leaves little time between the prior agreement’s expiration and the new firm’s scheduled work. Acacia’s contract ended July 31, while the new arrangement is set to begin August 15.

The agreement would provide representation during immigration proceedings while children remain in ORR care. It does not resolve the unpaid-fee litigation or establish how the 22,000 children living with sponsors will receive legal assistance.

The government’s proposed award therefore places the immediate transition and the longer funding dispute on separate tracks. The new contract is scheduled to run until August 14, 2027.

This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.