Immigrant Children’s Legal Aid Groups Seek Court Intervention Over Unpaid Fees
In a move to address a significant funding shortfall, attorneys representing immigrant children will petition a judge on Thursday to compel the government to disburse millions owed for legal services rendered this year.
Approximately 100 legal aid organizations, advocating for around 20,000 immigrant children in the U.S., participate in a congressional program designed to provide legal assistance to minors. However, these groups have reportedly not received payments since November, prompting legal action to recover about $65 million allegedly withheld by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees immigrant children in custody.
The contract facilitating this work expired on July 31 and is yet to be renewed, raising concerns among aid groups about their ability to continue operations.
Roxana Avila-Cimpeanu, deputy director of the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, highlighted the challenges faced by her organization, which manages roughly 300 pending asylum cases for children in Arizona. She noted that new clients would be evaluated individually moving forward. “As our current cases ramp up, we have to build capacity for that, and that means that more work is needed in order to accept a case,” Avila-Cimpeanu stated during a recent press call.
The financial strain has forced some aid groups to stop accepting new clients altogether due to the lack of federal funding.
A recent notice in the Federal Register announced a $150 million contract awarded to Burke Law Group, a Texas-based firm, to represent unaccompanied immigrant children. Despite its primary focus on environmental, litigation, and corporate counsel, Burke Law Group has now included immigration law in its practice, as noted by Politico.
Michael Lukens, executive director of the Acacia Center for Immigrant Rights, which previously held the now-expired HHS contract, expressed concerns over government demands for sensitive data protected by attorney-client privilege. “If Burke Law is going to do shelter work, and that’s a few thousand kids, there’s still another 22,000 children who are not in shelter, who also are served under this program,” Lukens remarked. He further speculated that any new contracts with HHS would likely require data sharing.
The published notice specifies that Burke Law Group will offer legal orientation, consultation, and representation services for unaccompanied alien children (UACs) in Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) care, along with referrals for legal resources post-release.
Avila-Cimpeanu raised concerns about the potential relocation of clients to Texas, which could complicate ongoing state court cases necessary for obtaining relief in immigration court. She questioned Burke Law Group’s expertise in juvenile immigration law and their capability to handle cases in state courts nationwide. “I just want to be clear — children are going to be sent back to harm, children are going to die, because of this process,” she warned.
Neither the Department of Health and Human Services nor Burke Law Firm provided responses regarding the new contract.
