In Reply to: Just think of all the contracts he can award to his buddies... posted by mh on August 06, 2026 at 10:36:11
A small Houston-based law firm with ties to the Trump administration is reportedly set to receive a $150 million no-bid federal contract to provide legal representation for unaccompanied migrant children — a move that has one Democratic lawmaker crying "corruption."
The Office of Refugee Resettlement intends to award the profitable contract to Burke Law Group, a firm co-founded by former Trump appointee Marcella Burke and with only two immigration attorneys on the books, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
"Trump is handing $150M to a law firm led by a former appointee," responded Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX). "[It's] now trusted to represent 20,000 immigrant kids. Corruption — and you’re paying for it."
The move comes after the Trump administration last week allowed the previous legal representation contract to expire, leaving roughly 24,000 children who crossed the southern border without a parent in limbo over their access to counsel.
The size and nature of the award have drawn sharp criticism from immigrant advocacy groups.
Michael Lukens, executive director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, which provides legal representation to immigrant children in the Washington, D.C. area, said on a call with reporters that the firm was "clearly unqualified" for the task.
He noted that the organizations that previously held these contracts had nearly two decades of experience representing unaccompanied minors in immigration proceedings, a stark contrast to Burke Law Group's limited immigration law presence.