The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced it will award a $150 million contract to the Houston-based Burke Law Group to provide legal representation for unaccompanied migrant children in U.S. custody. The contract, published in a Federal Register notice, tasks the firm with offering legal orientation, consultation, and attorney-of-record services during immigration proceedings.
The award follows the expiration of a prior contract with a network of nearly 100 legal nonprofits that had provided similar services for decades. The Trump administration had halted payments to those providers in November 2023, citing refusal to disclose confidential information about the children they represented. The administration has since withheld $65 million in overdue fees from the previous contract.
Key Details of the Contract
The HHS notice specifies that Burke Law Group will represent eligible unaccompanied children—defined as minors without a parent or guardian—while they remain in government custody. The firm’s role includes legal orientation sessions, consultations, and formal representation before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Burke Law Group, which employs 26 staff across eight offices, initially did not list immigration law as a practice area on its website. However, the firm has since updated its site to include immigration among its services. Its attorneys primarily specialize in administrative law, white-collar defense, commercial litigation, and securities litigation. The firm’s founders include Marcella Burke, a former Trump appointee to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of the Interior, and Jeffrey Hall, a former EPA employee confirmed to a federal role in late 2023.
The HHS has not responded to requests for comment on the contract award. Burke Law Group also did not provide a statement despite multiple inquiries.
Reactions and Broader Implications
Legal aid organizations and immigrant advocacy groups have raised concerns about the contract’s award to a firm with limited experience in immigration law or child welfare. Roxana Avila-Cimpeanu, deputy director of the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, stated, “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.”
Critics argue that the move could increase the risk of deportation for vulnerable children, many of whom are too young to navigate legal proceedings alone. The prior network of providers had represented tens of thousands of children annually, offering specialized expertise in asylum claims and child welfare protections.
The administration’s decision to shift the contract aligns with its broader immigration enforcement policies, which have included mass deportation efforts and tightened asylum restrictions. The HHS notice does not provide a rationale for selecting Burke Law Group over organizations with established track records in migrant child representation.
Background: The End of the Prior Contract
The previous contract, held by the Acacia Center for Justice, oversaw subcontracts with more than 100 service providers nationwide. The administration’s decision to terminate the contract without a replacement left legal aid groups scrambling to secure alternative funding. The withholding of $65 million in fees has been described by providers as a financial squeeze to pressure compliance with information-sharing demands.
The new contract with Burke Law Group is expected to cover approximately 20,000 unaccompanied children currently in government custody, according to HHS filings. The firm’s capacity to handle this caseload remains untested, given its size and prior focus areas.