The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded a no-bid $158 million contract for the legal services of unaccompanied migrant children to Our Rescue, an anti-trafficking organization previously known as Operation Underground Railroad [1]. The contract, from HHS's Office of Refugee Resettlement, runs for six months, from Aug. 7 to Feb. 6, 2027 [1].
Our Rescue is not an established immigration-legal-services provider. The group was founded by activist Tim Ballard, who was the subject of the 2023 film "Sound of Freedom," and it says its work is helping law enforcement perform sting operations to catch human traffickers [1]. Its current chief executive is Derek Benner, who previously worked for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement [1]. Whether it can deliver on the contract is an open question: NPR reports it is unclear if the group has immigration lawyers on its staff [1].
That gap is the heart of the objection from immigrant-rights advocates. Michael Lukens, executive director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, told NPR that "HHS is trying to give a contract to a nonprofit that is highly problematic in their history and has no expertise in providing legal services to unaccompanied children" [1].
There is a personal controversy attached to the organization's founder as well, and it should be stated carefully. Ballard faced accusations of sexual exploitation, which he has repeatedly denied; he was quietly removed from the group [1]. The accusations are not adjudicated, and his denial is on the record.
ORR defends the award on the ground of the children's need. An ORR spokesperson told NPR that "ORR is committed to ensuring every (unaccompanied immigrant child) has legal representation in immigration court" [1]. That statement addresses the goal of the contract, not the objection to the vendor, which is the specific point in dispute: not whether unaccompanied children should have lawyers, but whether this group can provide them.
