HHS Broke a Migrant Children's Counsel Order; Proposed Former Trump Appointee's Firm for Up to $150 Million

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Chapter 1 — HHS Broke the Funding Order and Chose a Connected Firm

Chapter 2 — The Proposal Did Not Replace the Defense Network

Chapter 3 — Children Still Needed Lawyers in October

1 · HHS Broke the Funding Order and Chose a Connected Firm

1 · HHS Broke the Funding Order and Chose a Connected Firm — select a subtopic

1.1 — One Day in August: A Violation Found, a $150 Million Proposal Published

1.2 — The Judge Had Ordered the Money Kept Flowing

1 · HHS Broke the Funding Order and Chose a Connected Firm

1.1 · HHS Broke the Funding Order and Chose a Connected Firm

One Day in August: A Violation Found, a $150 Million Proposal Published

A federal judge found on August 6, 2026, that Trump's HHS had violated her order by withholding money for migrant children's lawyers. The same day, HHS's proposal of up to $150 million, without bidding, for a former Trump appointee's firm was published. The firm, Burke Law Group, withdrew; no money was awarded.

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Sources

[1]Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, order enforcing preliminary injunction, ECF 172, Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto v. HHS, No. 25-cv-02847-AMO (N.D. Cal. August 6, 2026)

[2]Office of Refugee Resettlement, notice of intent to award a single-source cooperative agreement to Burke Law Group, 91 FR 50848, document 2026-16081 (August 6, 2026)

[3]Associated Press, A $150M contract for migrant kids' lawyers goes to a Trump-linked Texas firm, raising concerns, WTOP (August 5, 2026)

[4]Marcella Burke biography published by the Federalist Society (captured October 10, 2026)

[5]Office of Refugee Resettlement, withdrawal notice, 91 FR 53257, document 2026-16741 (August 17, 2026)

[6]Gisela Salomon, Associated Press, Trump administration to assign government lawyers to migrant kids' cases, worrying advocates, WLRN (October 7, 2026)

[7]Donald Trump, remarks at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s swearing-in as HHS secretary, DCPD-202500261 (February 13, 2025)

[8]Robert F. Kennedy Jr., HHS Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority, 91 FR 61422-61426, document 2026-19903 (September 29, 2026)

1.2 · HHS Broke the Funding Order and Chose a Connected Firm

The Judge Had Ordered the Money Kept Flowing

A federal judge found that HHS had withheld funding for children's lawyers since December 2025 in violation of her injunction and ordered it released. HHS said it was verifying a contractor's invoices, and GAO later upheld its payment rules for a new contract. The judge held that a contract dispute could not excuse disobeying her order.

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Sources

[1]Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, order enforcing preliminary injunction, ECF 172, Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto v. HHS, No. 25-cv-02847-AMO (N.D. Cal. August 6, 2026)

[6]Gisela Salomon, Associated Press, Trump administration to assign government lawyers to migrant kids' cases, worrying advocates, WLRN (October 7, 2026)

[9]GAO, Acacia Center for Justice, B-424162.4 (September 18, 2026)

2 · The Proposal Did Not Replace the Defense Network

2 · The Proposal Did Not Replace the Defense Network — select a subtopic

2.1 — A Small Firm and a Narrower Promise

2.2 — HHS Said It Would Fill Gaps; Burke Withdrew Before an Award

2 · The Proposal Did Not Replace the Defense Network

2.1 · The Proposal Did Not Replace the Defense Network

A Small Firm and a Narrower Promise

AP reported that the network whose contract HHS let expire used nearly 100 legal-aid providers, and found relevant immigration experience in only two of the proposed firm's 25 lawyer biographies. The proposal covered children in federal care, with limited planning and referrals for those leaving. An advocate estimated roughly 22,000 children lived outside shelters with sponsors.

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Sources

[1]Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, order enforcing preliminary injunction, ECF 172, Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto v. HHS, No. 25-cv-02847-AMO (N.D. Cal. August 6, 2026)

[2]Office of Refugee Resettlement, notice of intent to award a single-source cooperative agreement to Burke Law Group, 91 FR 50848, document 2026-16081 (August 6, 2026)

[3]Associated Press, A $150M contract for migrant kids' lawyers goes to a Trump-linked Texas firm, raising concerns, WTOP (August 5, 2026)

[4]Marcella Burke biography published by the Federalist Society (captured October 10, 2026)

2.2 · The Proposal Did Not Replace the Defense Network

HHS Said It Would Fill Gaps; Burke Withdrew Before an Award

HHS said a proposed award to Burke Law Group would fill gaps in children's legal representation; Burke withdrew and no award was made. The judge wrote that it appeared no mechanism existed by which HHS was complying with her order. At a Chicago hearing AP witnessed, an outside attorney said the government had supplied children's private information; the judge said the children already had lawyers.

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Sources

[1]Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, order enforcing preliminary injunction, ECF 172, Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto v. HHS, No. 25-cv-02847-AMO (N.D. Cal. August 6, 2026)

[2]Office of Refugee Resettlement, notice of intent to award a single-source cooperative agreement to Burke Law Group, 91 FR 50848, document 2026-16081 (August 6, 2026)

[3]Associated Press, A $150M contract for migrant kids' lawyers goes to a Trump-linked Texas firm, raising concerns, WTOP (August 5, 2026)

[5]Office of Refugee Resettlement, withdrawal notice, 91 FR 53257, document 2026-16741 (August 17, 2026)

[10]Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, order shortening time and setting evidentiary hearing, ECF 183 (N.D. Cal. August 25, 2026)

3 · Children Still Needed Lawyers in October

3 · Children Still Needed Lawyers in October — select a subtopic

3.1 — HHS Created Its Own Team, With Independence Safeguards

3.2 — A New Organization Did Not Erase the Loss of Counsel

3 · Children Still Needed Lawyers in October

3.1 · Children Still Needed Lawyers in October

HHS Created Its Own Team, With Independence Safeguards

In September 2026, Kennedy created a division of HHS lawyers to represent unaccompanied children. Its rules separate it from the agencies that care for the children and bar it from advising those agencies on a matter in which it advises or represents a child. HHS's general counsel and a deputy supervise and control its legal work, including litigation strategy. Acacia's director said in-house counsel does not meet basic standards of independence.

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Sources

[6]Gisela Salomon, Associated Press, Trump administration to assign government lawyers to migrant kids' cases, worrying advocates, WLRN (October 7, 2026)

[8]Robert F. Kennedy Jr., HHS Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority, 91 FR 61422-61426, document 2026-19903 (September 29, 2026)

3.2 · Children Still Needed Lawyers in October

A New Organization Did Not Erase the Loss of Counsel

By October, advocates told AP that children were going to hearings without lawyers. HHS had other contracts but did not tell AP when its team would be fully operational. The charge: HHS broke a court order protecting funding for children's lawyers and chose a firm connected to Trump's first administration for a no-bid award that collapsed.

Read the full chapter — all the detail, fully footnoted →

Sources

[1]Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, order enforcing preliminary injunction, ECF 172, Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto v. HHS, No. 25-cv-02847-AMO (N.D. Cal. August 6, 2026)

[2]Office of Refugee Resettlement, notice of intent to award a single-source cooperative agreement to Burke Law Group, 91 FR 50848, document 2026-16081 (August 6, 2026)

[4]Marcella Burke biography published by the Federalist Society (captured October 10, 2026)

[5]Office of Refugee Resettlement, withdrawal notice, 91 FR 53257, document 2026-16741 (August 17, 2026)

[6]Gisela Salomon, Associated Press, Trump administration to assign government lawyers to migrant kids' cases, worrying advocates, WLRN (October 7, 2026)

[9]GAO, Acacia Center for Justice, B-424162.4 (September 18, 2026)