A small Houston-based law firm with connections to the Trump administration is poised to receive a $150 million no-bid federal contract to provide legal representation for unaccompanied migrant children, a decision that has drawn allegations of corruption from a Democratic member of Congress.

According to the Washington Post, the Office of Refugee Resettlement — the division of the Department of Health and Human Services responsible for the care and placement of unaccompanied minors — intends to award the contract to Burke Law Group, a firm co-founded by former Trump appointee Marcella Burke. The firm currently lists only two immigration attorneys on staff.

Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) sharply criticized the move. "Trump is handing $150M to a law firm led by a former appointee," Casar said in a post on Bluesky. "[It's] now trusted to represent 20,000 immigrant kids. Corruption — and you're paying for it."

The contract award follows the Trump administration's decision last week to allow the previous legal representation contract to lapse, leaving approximately 24,000 children who crossed the southern border without a parent in uncertainty regarding their access to legal counsel. Under the Flores Settlement Agreement and the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, the federal government is obligated to ensure certain safeguards for unaccompanied minors in its custody, including access to legal counsel where feasible.

Immigrant advocacy organizations have raised concerns about both the scale of the award and the firm's qualifications. Michael Lukens, executive director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights — which provides legal representation to immigrant children in the Washington, D.C. area — told reporters on a press call that Burke Law Group was "clearly unqualified" for the assignment. Lukens emphasized that the organizations previously entrusted with these contracts possessed nearly two decades of experience representing unaccompanied minors in immigration proceedings, in stark contrast to Burke Law Group's limited footprint in immigration law.

The expiration of the prior contract has already left thousands of children navigating the immigration court system without guaranteed legal representation. Advocates note that this population is especially vulnerable given the complexity of immigration law and the severe consequences of deportation proceedings. Research has consistently demonstrated that legal representation significantly influences outcomes in immigration cases, particularly for children who may not otherwise comprehend the legal proceedings they face. Unlike in criminal court, respondents in immigration proceedings do not have a constitutional right to government-appointed counsel, making the ORR-funded representation program the primary source of legal support for this population.

Ben Johnson, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, echoed those concerns. "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," Johnson said in a post on Bluesky.

Neither the Office of Refugee Resettlement nor Burke Law Group responded to requests for comment regarding the contract award or the firm's capacity to manage a caseload of this magnitude.

The no-bid structure of the contract — a procurement method federal agencies typically reserve for circumstances where competitive bidding is deemed impractical or where a specific provider is uniquely positioned — combined with Burke's ties to the administration through her prior appointments, is expected to prompt further scrutiny from lawmakers and government watchdog groups over the selection process, particularly the choice of a firm with limited demonstrated immigration law experience for a contract of this significance and scope.