The Trump administration has initiated steps to terminate a civil lawsuit against Southwest Key Programs, a significant provider of housing for migrant children, accused of sexual abuse and harassment. The administration also announced it would cease using this provider’s facilities.
The decision to dismiss the lawsuit came soon after the government revealed that it had relocated all unaccompanied minors to alternative shelters. This lawsuit, initially filed during the Biden administration, outlined numerous claims of misconduct at Southwest Key Programs’ shelters, spanning Texas, Arizona, and California between 2015 and 2023, as the organization secured nearly $3 billion in federal contracts.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) indicated its decision to stop placing minors with Southwest Key due to ongoing concerns and mentioned plans to reassess the financial aid awarded to the contractor. The Justice Department dropped the litigation following these steps, according to the official HHS statement.
In response, Southwest Key Programs expressed satisfaction with the dismissal of the case. “We assertively refuted the allegations of child sexual abuse within our shelters, and the closure requires neither settlement nor financial compensation,” the organization stated on Wednesday. “We were confident that a thorough examination of the facts would validate our position. We appreciate the government’s decision to review the case thoroughly and dismiss it with prejudice,” they concluded.
This week, Southwest Key Programs announced the furloughing of staff nationwide. “Given the unexpected freeze on federal funding and the halt in placements at our shelters for unaccompanied minors and the Home Study Post Release programs initiated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the challenging choice to furlough around 5,000 employees was made,” the organization disclosed.
Allegations within the 2024 lawsuit cite instances of South Key employees, including managerial staff, engaging in sexual assault, inappropriate contact, or soliciting sexual favors and nude imagery from minors as early as 2015. Reports include one employee who “repeatedly sexually abused” three young girls within the Casa Franklin facility in El Paso, Texas, with the 8-year-old victim revealing to agents that the staffer “invaded their sleeping quarters at night to inappropriately touch their ‘private area.’”
Further claims describe another employee from a Mesa, Arizona shelter who allegedly took a 15-year-old boy to a motel, compensating him for sexual engagements over a span of several days in 2020. According to the lawsuit, children were often discouraged from reporting the mistreatment under threats of harm to themselves or their families. The testimony points to occasions where other employees were aware of the abuse but chose not to disclose or concealed it.
“A shocking revelation of grotesquely inhumane misconduct towards children at Southwest Key’s facilities was brought to light through the DOJ’s litigation,” stated Leecia Welch, an attorney representing unaccompanied minors in a separate legal context. “It’s astounding the government has opted to overlook their contractor’s malpractices. I hope the affected children find alternative legal means and support for recovery from their trauma.”
The potential continuation of the case remains uncertain. The National Center for Youth Law filed an injunction opposing the dismissal, seeking to formally intervene to support the alleged abuse victims. If their plea is considered, they will be granted 30 days to propose their intervention formally. Two personnel have already faced criminal charges in connection to these accusations since 2020. The civil suit had initially sought both a jury trial and financial reparation for the victims.
