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Federal Contract Ends, Cutting Network That Helped Unaccompanied Migrant Children

The administration awarded a one-year, no-bid agreement to a small Texas firm for children in shelters, leaving thousands released to sponsors without the prior coordinated, trauma-informed legal network.

Families arrive for a hearing in immigration court on July 31 in New York City. More than 1,400 migrant children across the state, including approximately 700 in upstate New York, lost legal representation as a $200 million federal contract with the Acacia Center for Justice expired.
Illustration of children in Mexico, by Rini Templeton.

Overview

  • A long-standing prime contract run by the Acacia Center for Justice expired on July 31 after months of withheld reimbursements and a dispute over the government’s demand for detailed client-level information.
  • Providers say HHS withheld about $65 million in payments for services already rendered and conditioned funding on data that lawyers said would violate attorney-client privilege.
  • HHS moved quickly to give a roughly $150 million, single-source contract to Burke Law Group to represent children still in ORR custody, with services set to begin on August 15 and cover mainly shelter populations of about 1,800 children.
  • The contract does not provide an immediate replacement for the network’s cases for children already placed with sponsors or in the community, leaving many with no clear path to trauma-informed counsel and forcing nonprofits to furlough staff or close programs.
  • Advocates warn the shift risks due process and child safety, providers have filed or prepared litigation over payments and contract terms, and observers say the next key questions are who will represent released children and how courts will handle large case transfers.