A Houston law firm, the Burke Law Group, has secured a substantial contract worth $150 million to provide legal representation for unaccompanied migrant children under the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The one-year agreement is set to commence on August 15 and was granted without the typical competitive bidding process.
This new contract comes in the wake of the expiration of a previous agreement held by a coalition of nearly 100 legal organizations, which had been providing services but went unpaid for several months. The Burke Law Group, which has ties to former President Trump’s administration, replaces this network to ensure legal support for vulnerable minors.
Marcella Burke, one of the founding members of the firm, previously served as a Trump appointee in both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior. The firm’s website indicates that it employs 26 individuals across eight offices, though only two have specified immigration and asylum as their areas of expertise.
Under the terms of the contract, the Burke Law Group will be tasked with providing essential legal services to unaccompanied minors in ORR custody. Recent data shows that the agency has been caring for an average of 1,796 children as of June, with a monthly average of 1,908 children since October 2025.
The transition to Burke Law Group follows the federal government’s decision to let the previous contract with Acacia Center for Justice lapse. This organization, which had been managing legal services for unaccompanied minors since 2023, utilized a widespread network of over 100 legal service providers, assisting more than 20,000 children during its tenure.
Acacia Center for Justice emphasized their commitment to meeting ORR’s requirements and the importance of ensuring that children are represented by independent immigration attorneys. This shift in legal representation marks a significant change in the approach to providing essential services to unaccompanied minors in the United States.
