Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D. Bishop | Archdiocese of Louisville

Catholic immigration and anti-trafficking advocates are expressing grave concern over alleged systemic sexual abuse of unaccompanied migrant children by staff of a private contractor for the U.S. government.

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on July 17 against Southwest Key Programs, an Austin, Texas-based nonprofit that provides housing for unaccompanied minors, as well as services for youth, families, and job seekers.

Operating 29 shelters in Texas, Arizona, and California, Southwest Key is the largest housing provider for unaccompanied children in the U.S., receiving over $3 billion in grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement between fiscal years 2015-2023. The children remain at such shelters until they can be reunited with immediate family, a relative, or a vetted sponsor amid immigration proceedings.

The DOJ’s complaint, filed in the U.S District Court for the Western District of Texas, alleges that Southwest Key violated the Fair Housing Act by permitting employees to engage in systemic sexual abuse and harassment of more than 100 unaccompanied children in the nonprofit’s care.

The incidents named in the suit are alleged to have taken place “from 2015 through at least 2023” and involve “multiple Southwest Key employees,” including supervisors, according to the complaint.

Among the offenses listed in the complaint are “sexual contact and inappropriate touching, solicitation of sex acts, solicitation of nude photos, entreaties for inappropriate relationships and sexual comments.”

The DOJ noted in its complaint that “Southwest Key’s own documents report numerous examples of sexual abuse and harassment of children by employees.”

In one case, a teenage girl reported being repeatedly raped, abused and threatened by a Southwest Key supervisor during her 2019 stay at a facility in Channelview, Texas. She eventually managed to pass a note to a teacher about the supervisor’s abuse: “El puede hacer lo que se la plaza porque es chiflider el manda” (“He can do whatever he pleases because he is a shift leader; he’s the boss”).

Another Southwest Key report details a worker’s 2022 abuse of three girls — ages 5, 8 and 11 — at an El Paso shelter. The worker threatened to kill the children’s families if they revealed the abuse.

Multiple Southwest Key reports documented the 2020 case of an agency staffer taking one 15-year-old boy to an Arizona hotel for several days and paying him for sex acts. In 2022, this worker later pleaded guilty in court to felony attempted sexual conduct with a minor.

The DOJ said in its filing that Southwest Key failed to prevent such abuse or take sufficient action against it despite ORR having issued multiple corrective actions to Southwest Key.

Katie Boller Gosewisch, executive director of the Alliance to End Human Trafficking — an anti-trafficking advocacy group founded by U.S. women religious — told OSV News she was “deeply troubled” by these allegations against Southwest Key.

“The safety and well-being of vulnerable populations, particularly children should always be our paramount concern,” said Gosewich. “These allegations highlight a distressing breach of trust and duty of care that we as society owe those seeking refuge and protection.”

Aimée Santillán from Hope Border Institute wrote about "a deeply troubling pattern" demanding "immediate decisive action."

Hille Haker from Loyola University Chicago stressed that this lawsuit is just beginning steps towards addressing this problem. She questioned why facilities where abuses occurred were not shut down sooner: "Why did they not close down at least facilities where abuses or assaults took place?"

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra emphasized zero tolerance towards all forms sexual misconduct while promising continued cooperation with other agencies holding accountable those responsible: "We will continue closely evaluating our assignment ensuring every child under HHS custody remains safe."

Both Haker & Santillán pointed broader issues erosion protections minors citing Governor Greg Abbott's June revocation state licenses child care contractors sheltering undocumented immigrants creating oversight void exacerbating problems further highlighted risks ending Flores settlement replaced new rule effective July questioning whether applies private non-profit institutions like SWKey urging concrete actions follow-up necessary dismantling structures enabling abuses building systems safeguarding rights dignity all under care advocating rigorous investigations accountability proven true stronger safeguards preventing future incidents stressing collective responsibility ensuring supportive environments upholding children's rights dignity

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