US plans up to $150 million legal support for unaccompanied migrant children

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plans to award a single-source cooperative agreement worth up to $150 million to Houston-based Burke Law Group to provide legal services for eligible unaccompanied migrant children in federal custody.

Unaccompanied migrant children are minors who arrive in the United States without a parent or legal guardian available to care for them. After they are apprehended by immigration authorities, they are transferred to ORR, which is responsible for their care and custody until they can be released to vetted sponsors, usually family members, while their immigration cases continue.

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According to a notice scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on August 6, the proposed one-year agreement would run from August 15, 2026, to August 14, 2027, and is aimed at expanding legal representation for children during US immigration proceedings.

Award aims to address legal service gaps

Under the proposed agreement, Burke Law Group will provide legal orientation, legal consultation and attorney-of-record representation for eligible children in proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) while they remain in the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).

The proposed award also includes limited legal continuity planning and referral support to help children connect with legal resources after they leave ORR care.

According to the notice, the funding is intended to address gaps in legal orientation, legal consultation and attorney representation while supporting ORR's statutory responsibility to ensure, "to the greatest extent practicable," that eligible unaccompanied children have legal counsel during immigration proceedings.

The proposed legal services are required under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, related federal regulations and a preliminary injunction in Community Legal Services In East Palo Alto, et al. v. HHS, et al.

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Thousands of children enter ORR care each year

According to official ORR data, the agency received 22,833 referrals of unaccompanied children from the Department of Homeland Security in fiscal year 2025. ORR publishes daily information on the number of children in its care and annual data on referrals, releases to sponsors and the average length of stay.

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The federal programme has handled large numbers of children in recent years. According to the US Government Accountability Office, ORR cared for about 119,000 unaccompanied children in fiscal year 2023, reflecting continued demand on the federal shelter system and related legal services.

HHS said the proposed agreement would expand ORR's legal services capacity while complementing existing federally funded programmes for eligible unaccompanied children.