July 20, 2024
MCALLEN, Texas — As allegations of sexual abuse built up at the largest housing provider for unaccompanied migrant children in the U.S., officials continued placing children in their care in a system that lacks adequate oversight, advocates say.
What You Need To Know
- A lawsuit filed Wednesday by the Justice Department alleges employees of Southwest Key Programs Inc. sexually abused and harassed children in their care for at least eight years. During that time, the nonprofit organization amassed billions of dollars in government contracts and continued to house thousands of unaccompanied migrant children entering the U.S.
- It remained unclear Friday how many children are currently in Southwest Key shelters, and federal officials did not respond to questions about whether any actions would be taken in response to the lawsuit
- Southwest Key, which operates under grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Office of Refugee Resettlement, has 29 child migrant shelters — 17 in Texas, 10 in Arizona and two in California — with room for more than 6,300 children
- The abuse reflects the important role of state oversight — something that is now lacking in states like Texas and Florida, where Republican governors revoked state licensing of facilities that house migrant children