close
close
hsuses

“Repeated sexual harassment”: Largest US housing provider abused migrant children for eight years

Theo

NEW DELHI: Employees of Southwest Key Programs Inc., the largest residential provider for unaccompanied migrant children in the US, are accused of sexually abusing and molesting the children in their care for at least eight years, according to a Justice Department complaint. The allegations, which stretch from 2015 to the present, include numerous cases of rape, inappropriate touching and solicitation of sexual acts and nude images of children.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Southwest Key operates 29 homes for migrant children in Texas, Arizona and California with a capacity of over 6,300 children. The organization has received over $3 billion in government contracts from 2015 to 2023. Despite numerous reports of abuse, the Justice Department alleges that children have continued to be placed in Southwest Key’s care.

The lawsuit lists more than 100 reports of sexual abuse or harassment at Southwest Key homes since 2015. Specific incidents include an employee at the Casa Franklin home in El Paso, Texas, who “repeatedly sexually abused” three girls, ages 5, 8 and 11, and an employee at the Mesa, Arizona, home who took a 15-year-old boy to a hotel in 2020 and paid him for sex acts. Children were often threatened with violence against themselves or their families if they reported the abuse.

Leecia Welch, deputy legal director at Children’s Rights, called the allegations “absolutely disgusting” and criticized the continued placement of children at Southwest Key during the period of alleged abuse. “If they are filing this complaint because they have seen a pattern and practice of sexually assaulting and abusing these children while continuing to place children at Southwest Key during the same period of time, that is why I have such suspicion,” Welch said.

Expand


Neha Desai, immigration director at the National Center for Youth Law, called the allegations “deeply disturbing and shocking” and called on the government to take “the most aggressive measures possible” to ensure the safety of the children currently in Southwest Key facilities.

The lawsuit follows the repeal of special judicial oversight of HHS’s care of unaccompanied migrant children, known as the Flores Agreement. That oversight had allowed lawyers to visit detention centers, conduct interviews and take complaints. The Biden administration argued that new federal protections made that oversight unnecessary.

However, advocates raise concerns about the lack of state oversight, particularly in Texas and Florida, where state licenses for facilities for migrant children were revoked in 2021. Carrie Van der Hoek, deputy program director of the Young Center’s Child Advocate Program in Texas, reported that complaints to the state Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) are often not investigated due to jurisdictional issues.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra emphasized the department’s “zero tolerance policy toward all forms of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, inappropriate sexual conduct and discrimination,” but did not comment on whether children would be removed from Southwest Key’s care or whether contracts with the nonprofit organization would be terminated.

Southwest Key spokeswoman Anais Biera Miracle said the organization is reviewing the complaint and denied the allegations, saying they do not reflect the quality of care provided to the children. The company has remained true to its mission of providing quality care despite the controversy and criticism it has faced.

Critics, including Diane de Gramont of the National Center for Youth Law, stress the need for immediate action to ensure the safety of children in Southwest Key’s homes and the accountability of those responsible for their care. “ORR has continued to contract with Southwest Key despite knowing about some of these problems,” de Gramont said. “And we would be extremely concerned if children then ended up in Border Patrol facilities for extended periods of time because ORR does not have enough beds for them.”

The Justice Department’s civil lawsuit demands a jury trial and damages for victims of the alleged abuse, highlighting the continued need for strict oversight and accountability in the care of vulnerable migrant children.

Related Posts