Thursday, 6 August 2026, 16:40
Legal aid organizations across the country, including in California, are raising alarms after the Trump administration gave a $150 million contract for migrant children's legal representation to a small Houston law firm with close ties to the administration but little immigration experience. The decision comes as the administration intensifies mass deportation efforts and after a long-standing network of legal providers was left without a contract.
Burke Law Group will take over legal services for unaccompanied children currently held in government-run shelters. The one-year contract starts August 15. Children living outside shelters with sponsors, about 22,000, will likely need a separate future contract, according to providers.
Michael Lukens, who heads the Amica Center, called the sole-source award "upsetting and shocking." He said, "It really does forebode a situation where children are going to get no meaningful due process, no meaningful day in court. We cannot have a random law firm entrusted to take care of children."
Only two of the 25 lawyers listed on the firm's website claim immigration law experience. Founder Marcella Burke served in Trump's first administration at the EPA and the Interior Department. Other attorneys include Justin Shubow, a backer of Trump's push for classical federal architecture, and Ilya Shapiro, a conservative legal scholar listed as senior counsel.
The contract notice describes the award as a "single source cooperative agreement," which means no competitive bidding process. No public justification was provided.
Until last Friday, a network of nearly 100 legal aid providers ran know-your-rights sessions in shelters and represented children in court. That contract expired with no immediate replacement. Providers also say they have not been paid since November and are being asked to share detailed client information they consider ethically protected.
Advocates point to other warning signs, including "rocket dockets" since April that have accelerated court hearings and shortened preparation time for immigrant children.
California is home to one of the largest populations of immigrant children in the country, although the new contract applies nationally. The AP report filed from Sacramento noted that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees shelters, did not respond to requests for comment. The outcome could affect children placed in California shelters as well as those sponsored by families in the state.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 requires the government to facilitate legal representation for unaccompanied minors in deportation proceedings. That responsibility has been carried out for years by nonprofit legal aid groups with specialized expertise in immigration law and child welfare.
Legal advocates are demanding answers about how the contract was awarded and whether children will receive competent representation. The new provider starts work August 15, and the gap between the expired contract and the new one has already created uncertainty for shelters and families.
