Group founded by Tim Ballard gets big contract for immigration work
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The Trump administration has awarded more than $244 million in a no-bid legal services contract to Our Rescue — formerly Operation Underground Railroad, the nonprofit whose founder, Utah celebrity activist Tim Ballard, resigned amid sexual misconduct allegations.
Why it matters: The contract appoints Our Rescue to represent vulnerable migrant children under a federal law requiring legal counsel for unaccompanied minors who came to the U.S. without a parent.
- The group's current director is, like Ballard, a former ICE agent.
Driving the news: The contract was issued Friday, according to a federal notice first reported by The American Prospect.
- A week earlier, the previous legal contractor said the Trump administration withheld payment for months because that organization wouldn't share confidential information about the children it served.
Friction point: There's no indication that Our Rescue has previously provided legal services on the scale of its new contract.
- It became famous for international raids on alleged human traffickers, which have enlisted non-tactical professionals like politicians and mommy bloggers on SWAT-style "jumps" — with cameras rolling.
- Its website doesn't list legal services among its primary functions, instead focusing on "field operations" with police and human trafficking survivor care, education and prevention.
- IRS filings show its 2025 operating expenditures totaled $37.3 million, a fraction of the contract amount.
In a prepared response to Axios, Our Rescue CEO Derek Benner said the group "[helps] vulnerable children across the U.S. and around the world," and the federal contract "fits squarely within this mission."
- "We welcome this responsibility," he added.
Between the lines: Our Rescue has had strong Republican ties, with Benner described as a "top Trump immigration enforcer" during Trump's first term.
- Before Ballard resigned in 2023, the group had risen as a darling of the religious right.
Flashback: The group's profile reached its zenith in 2023, with the release of the film "The Sound of Freedom," which starred actor Jim Caviezel as Ballard.
- Ballard resigned less than a month later, following an employee complaint, Vice reported. Other women reported misconduct on raids; Ballard has denied the allegations against him. Prosecutors in Utah declined to file charges, and lawsuits are pending.
Catch up quick: News investigations, human trafficking watchdogs and participants in the group's raids had already challenged its claims and tactics, alleging it exaggerated its successes to raise money.
- Davis County prosecutor Troy Rawlings in 2020 launched a criminal investigation into whether it misrepresented its involvement in local sex crime cases. He later dropped the case, saying further action wasn't "prudent."
What they're saying: The Trump administration is trying to "make sure that the kids have an attorney on paper but are not actually providing meaningful legal advocacy," Michael Lukens, executive director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, told the Washington Post.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement, the Department of Health and Human Services agency that issued the contract, says in a written statement to Axios that it is working "to pursue all avenues to provide legal services" for unaccompanied migrant children.
- "ORR is committed to ensuring every UAC has legal representation in immigration court..." it adds.
The latest: Our Rescue said it was moving its headquarters to Minneapolis, but the contract notice lists Sandy as its location.
- Its website stresses it "is not a law enforcement body."
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Brittany Gibson contributed to this report.