The current number of children housed within Southwest Key’s extensive network of shelters across three states, which can accommodate over 6,300 children, remains unclear.
The Justice Department revealed on Thursday that employees of the largest housing provider for unaccompanied migrant children in the U.S. systematically sexually abused and harassed the children in their care over a span of at least eight years. These disturbing allegations coincide with Southwest Key Programs Inc. receiving billions of dollars in government contracts.
According to the Justice Department, Southwest Key employees, including supervisors, engaged in acts such as rape, sexual touching, and solicitation of sex and nude images from children, dating back to at least 2015. The department filed a lawsuit this week detailing these offenses, noting that at least two employees have faced criminal charges related to these actions since 2020.
The current number of children housed within Southwest Key’s extensive network of shelters across three states, which can accommodate over 6,300 children, remains unclear. A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to provide further comment beyond the announcement of the lawsuit, including whether the department recommended removing children from the shelters or terminating Southwest Key’s government contracts.
Southwest Key issued a statement acknowledging it is reviewing the complaint and contesting the depiction of its care for children.
As the primary provider of housing for unaccompanied migrant children, Southwest Key operates under grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It manages 29 shelters for child migrants, with 17 in Texas, 10 in Arizona, and two in California. Its largest facility, located in Brownsville, Texas, was converted from a Walmart and can accommodate up to 1,200 children.
The organization has played a significant role, albeit with relatively little public attention, in the federal government's efforts to manage the influx of unaccompanied migrant children in recent years, including during the family separations that occurred under President Donald Trump's administration in 2017 and 2018. Between 2015 and 2023, Southwest Key was awarded contracts totaling more than $3 billion by the government.
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