Children are the most vulnerable members of society, and refugee children who come to the United States unaccompanied are entitled to the highest level of care and protection that the nation can provide.
Unaccompanied refugee children most often did not make the decision to come to the United States. These children must be protected as they go through the immigration process.
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However, the current administration sees every issue as an opportunity for someone to line their pockets with taxpayer funds.
A law firm that is aligned with Donald Trump was given a $150 million no-bid contract to provide legal representation to unaccompanied refugee children by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and a group of Senators are investigating the deal.
Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT) Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA.), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) all wrote to RFK Jr.:
We are alarmed by the recent news that the Trump administration intends to award $150 million to a Houston law firm with close ties to President Trump and no apparent expertise in immigration law, to provide legal representation to unaccompanied children.2 Given the political connections between the firm’s senior leadership and the Trump administration, we have concerns about why you sidestepped the competitive bidding process to select this firm to provide legal services for children who are in the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s care and custody, and demand transparency into whether all federal procurement processes were followed. Children deserve competent representation by attorneys who practice at the intersection of child welfare and federal immigration law, but Americans also deserve to know why their federal dollars are being doled out to Trump’s friends and allies.
How did a law firm with zero experience in immigration get this contract handed to them? The Senators have many questions.