The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, intends to award a $150 million no-bid contract to Burke Law Group to provide legal representation for approximately 20,000 unaccompanied migrant children, The Washington Post reported.

No-bid contracts, also known as sole-source awards, bypass the competitive bidding process typically required for federal procurement and are generally reserved for situations involving urgent need, unique expertise, or national security considerations.

The Houston-based firm, co-founded by Marcella Burke — a former appointee of President Donald Trump — reportedly employs only two immigration attorneys. Unaccompanied migrant children are minors who arrive in the United States without a parent or legal guardian and are placed in federal custody while their immigration proceedings are adjudicated. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, ORR is directed to ensure, to the greatest extent practicable, that unaccompanied children have access to legal counsel during their proceedings.

Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) denounced the award as "corruption" on social media, citing the firm's apparent lack of qualifications for a contract of this scope and significance.

The no-bid contract follows the Trump administration's decision to allow the previous legal representation contract to expire, a move that left roughly 24,000 unaccompanied children without guaranteed legal counsel.

Michael Lukens, executive director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, argued that Burke Law Group was "clearly unqualified" for the assignment. He pointed to Burke's limited immigration experience and contrasted it with former contractors whose careers in this field spanned nearly two decades.

Ben Johnson of the American Immigration Lawyers Association struck a similar tone, stating: "Children facing deportation deserve experienced counsel focused on their clients' best interests, not lawyers operating under a system clouded by questions about political connections, qualifications, and government interference."

Legal representation has been shown to significantly affect outcomes in immigration proceedings, particularly for children, who must navigate complex legal systems often without the ability to advocate for themselves. Studies of immigration court data have consistently demonstrated that represented individuals — especially unaccompanied minors — are far more likely to succeed in their cases than those without counsel.