The White House wants illegal children to be represented in court by a law firm that doesn't have immigration lawyers.

Burke Law Group, a small law firm, is set to receive a multimillion-dollar contract from the Donald Trump administration to provide legal assistance to thousands of unaccompanied migrant minors in government custody, according to reports. ABC News.

In a notice published in the Federal Register, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced its intention to award a $150 million contract to Burke Law Group, a firm headquartered in Houston, Texas.

The contract provides for "the provision of legal information, advice, and legal representation services" for unaccompanied minors who entered the United States and are in government custody.

On the subject: Thousands of children and their guardians have been arrested by ICE after a transfer of data from the federal agency that handles immigrant minors.

Meanwhile, legal organizations across the country claim the administration has withheld $65 million in payments under a previous contract. They claim the government is attempting to coerce them into handing over confidential information about the children they represent.

According to the Burke Law Group website, the firm has 26 employees across eight offices. Immigration law was not initially listed as a practice area, but was later added to the website. Other areas of practice include administrative law, financial crime defense, commercial litigation, and securities litigation.

One of the firm's founders, Marcella Burke, previously held Trump administration-appointed positions at the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of the Interior. Jeffrey Hall, a former associate and founding partner of the firm, was appointed and confirmed to the EPA position late last year.

In December 2023, the Acacia Center for Justice, a center dedicated to protecting immigrants' rights, became the primary contractor for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' unaccompanied minors program. The center coordinates the work of approximately 100 contractors, which provide legal assistance to more than 20,000 unaccompanied minors.

Earlier, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson reported that the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a departmental agency, offered Acacia a new federal contract on the condition that the organization disclose its representation and bill the agency for immigration benefit applications. According to the spokesperson, Acacia declined the offer.

Legal groups including Acacia said the Office of Refugee Resettlement was demanding "client-level data" that is confidential and protected by law.

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Acacia and many of its partner organizations have argued that unaccompanied minors and their caregivers are among those targeted by immigration enforcement measures.

In June, Department of Homeland Security agents visited the offices of several Washington-area nonprofits that provide legal assistance to such children. Last year, the administration instructed immigration agents to search for unaccompanied minors in the United States.

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