The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched a legal battle against a Texas nonprofit, Southwest Key Programs Inc., asserting the organization's staff engaged in systematic sexual misconduct and harassment against minors in its shelters. According to KVUE, these shelters serve as temporary homes for unaccompanied children found at the U.S.-Mexico border, aiming to be a transient sanctuary until they can reunite with family or await immigration proceedings.
In the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, the DOJ alleges that from 2015 through at least 2023 several employees of Southwest Key subjected children to severe or pervasive sexual harassment involving sexual touch and solicitation, making requests for nude pictures and inappropriate relationships, adding sexual comments which the nonprofit failed to properly address or prevent, besides not adhering to federal requirements for preventing, detecting, and reporting abuse, and in a concerning trend, also allegedly discouraged minors from reporting such violations, as reported by KVUE.
As per KVUE, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Harvey Clarke Division disclosed that "Sexual harassment of children in residential shelters, where a child should be safe and secure, is abusive, dehumanizing and unlawful." She emphasized the gravity of the issue stating sexual abuse of children is a crisis that cannot be disregarded, the lawsuit thereby aims to compensate the affected children and institute reforms to preclude such abuse in the future.
Responding to the allegations, Southwest Key provided a statement to KXAN, asserting that the DOJ’s lawsuit does not reflect the reality of care and dedication their staff offer to the children, with their spokesperson articulating their primary concern is the "safety, health, and well-being of each one of the children and youth we care for." Southwest Key also mentioned their ongoing partnership and communication with the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), reinforcing their commitment to the welfare of the children during their stay at the shelters.
