| Advertisement |
March 13 (UPI) -- The Trump administration has announced it will no longer place unaccompanied migrant children in shelters operated by Southwest Key Programs over allegations of sexual abuse committed by its employees. The departments of Justice and Health and Human Services announced the decision Wednesday. The federal agencies said all children housed at Southwest Key, the largest provider of shelters for unaccompanied minors, have been relocated.
Advertisement
"This administration is working fearlessly to end the tragedy of human trafficking and other abuses of unaccompanied children who enter the country illegally. For too long, pernicious actors have exploited such children both before and after they enter the United States. Today's action is a significant step toward ending this appalling abuse of innocents," HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement.
Texas-based nonprofit Southwest Key has received grants from the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement to provide shelters for unaccompanied minors. According to its website, it has worked with the U.S. government since 1996. With 26 shelters for minors and one long-term foster care program operating in Texas, Arizona and California, it is the largest provider of such services in the country.
In July, the nonprofit was sued by the former Biden administration, alleging that its employees, "engaged in a pattern or practice of sexual abuse and harassment of unaccompanied children" in violation of the Fair Housing Act.
The lawsuit alleges that from 2015 to at least 2023, multiple Southwest Key employees subjected children under their care to sexual harassment, including sexual contact, inappropriate touching and solicitation of sex acts and nude photos as well as entreaties for inappropriate relationships and sexual comments.
Federal prosecutors also accused the company of failing to prevent the abuse of children and follow federal requirements, among others, despite having been issued multiple corrective actions by the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
The Justice Department said Wednesday it has decided to dismiss the lawsuit due to HHS' action to remove children from Southwest Key's facilities.
Southwest Key told UPI that it was "pleased" that the Justice Department dropped its case as it has "strongly denied" the claims of child sexual abuse at its shelters.
"We always believed the facts would prove the allegations to be without merit," a spokesperson told UPI in a statement.
"At the same time, due to the unforeseen federal funding freeze and the stop placement order on our shelters for unaccompanied minors and Home Study Post Release programs by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, we had to make the difficult decision to furlough approximately 5,000 Southwest Key program employees.
"This decision impacts staff and programs across our nation."
