𝗗𝗢𝗝 𝗦𝗨𝗘𝗦 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗪𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗞𝗘𝗬 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗘𝗫𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗜𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗥 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘

by Michael Loria

USA Today

Southwest Key Programs, the largest housing provider for unaccompanied migrant children, has been sued by the federal government for not protecting the minors in its care from abuse by staff.

Federal authorities announced a lawsuit against the nation's leading housing provider for unaccompanied migrant children in the U.S., alleging employees at the nonprofit committed "severe sexual abuse" against the minors in its care.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the Western District of Texas, against Southwest Key Programs covers over 100 instances of abuse against children ranging in age from 5 to 17 and occurring between 2013 and 2023. Prosecutors allege employees at the Texas-based organization knew about the host of abuses, including rape and coercing nude photos, and failed to protect the children it received billions from the federal government to support, according to the lawsuit.

“The sexual harassment alleged in the complaint would destroy any child’s sense of safety, turning what was an American Dream into a nightmare," said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas in a statement.

The lawsuit comes as the nonprofit's federal funding has grown tremendously and as it has become the government's leading partner in providing housing for tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors crossing the border annually, according to the lawsuit. Southwest Key operates 29 shelters; houses 6,350 children across Texas, Arizona, and California; and has received over $3 billion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over the nine years covered by the lawsuit.

The lawsuit aims to win a civil penalty for the alleged victims of abuse and a court order requiring Southwest to take steps to avoid future abuse, Justice Department officials said.

"Sexual harassment of children in residential shelters, where a child should be safe and secure, is abusive, dehumanizing, and unlawful," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. "Sexual abuse of children is a crisis that we can’t ignore or turn a blind eye to. This lawsuit seeks relief for children who have been abused and harmed, and meaningful reforms to ensure no child in these shelters is ever subjected to sexual abuse again."

'Severe sexual abuse and rape'

The lawsuit details a litany of allegations against unnamed Southwest Key employees, including everything from “severe sexual abuse and rape” to solicitation of sex acts and nude photos.

In Channelview, Texas, an employee "repeatedly raped, abused, and threatened a teenage girl" throughout her stay at the nonprofit's Casa Montezuma shelter in 2019, according to the lawsuit. He threatened to hospitalize her if she spoke about the abuse, court filings say. Prosecutors allege other employees knew about the abuse but didn't report it.

Another Southwest Key worker allegedly "repeatedly sexually abused" a 5-year-old girl, an 8-year-old girl, and an 11-year-old girl at Casa Franklin in El Paso, Texas, in 2022, the lawsuit said. The employee entered their rooms at night to touch their "private area" and threatened to kill their families if they spoke up, according to the lawsuit.

An employee at the nonprofit's Casa Kokopelli shelter in Arizona pleaded guilty to felony attempted sexual misconduct with a minor in 2022 in Maricopa County after absconding with a 15-year-old boy to a hotel for days where the Southwest Key staffer paid the teenager for sex acts, court documents said.

The misconduct came at the hands of staff at almost every level of Southwest operations, from teachers who inappropriately touched the children to medical staff who asked minors graphic questions about sex.

Southwest Key Chief Communications Officer Anais Biera Miracle disputed the findings of the lawsuit,

The lawsuit “does not present the accurate picture of the care and commitment our employees provide to the youth and children,” Miracle said in a statement. “Southwest Key Programs’ primary focus is the safety, health, and well-being of each one of the children and youth we care for.”