Overview
- The Office of Refugee Resettlement awarded a one-year, $158 million contract to Our Rescue on Tuesday to provide court representation for unaccompanied children, with a possible extension reported in contract filings.
- A planned cooperative award to Burke Law Group was withdrawn this week after public scrutiny about the firm’s limited immigration experience and ties to the Trump administration.
- The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants has an interim agreement to provide representation through Dec. 31 while the government moves to fill longer-term gaps.
- Prior nonprofit providers declined new ORR terms that demanded client-level data and had about $65 million in reimbursements withheld, prompting litigation and a judge’s partial payment order this month.
- States and cities are stepping in to fill shortfalls: New York announced $7.25 million to fund lawyers for roughly 1,400 children, and advocates warn thousands more placed with sponsors remain hard to reach for new counsel.