The largest shelter provider for unaccompanied migrant children in the U.S. is being sued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for “severe and pervasive” sexual abuse and harassment of children in their shelters.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday against Texas-based nonprofit Southwest Key Programs Inc., alleges that from 2015 through at least 2023, multiple employees of the migrant shelter network subjected unaccompanied minors in their care to “sexual contact and inappropriate touching, solicitation of sex acts, solicitation of nude photos, entreaties for inappropriate relationships and sexual comments.”
The DOJ further alleged that Southwest Key failed to take sufficient action to prevent the sexual harassment of children in their care, and discouraged children from disclosing sexual harassment.
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“Sexual harassment of children in residential shelters, where a child should be safe and secure, is abusive, dehumanizing and unlawful,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a Thursday press release.
“Sexual abuse of children is a crisis that we can’t ignore or turn a blind eye to,” Clarke said. “This lawsuit seeks relief for children who have been abused and harmed, and meaningful reforms to ensure no child in these shelters is ever subjected to sexual abuse again.”
Unaccompanied children are minors present in the United States without parents or other legal guardians and without lawful immigration status in the United States.
Southwest Key operates 29 shelters for unaccompanied migrant children in Texas, Arizona, and California.
These shelters function as the migrant children’s home until they can be reunited with their immediate families, placed in the care of a relative or with another vetted sponsor while their immigration cases are adjudicated.
The nonprofit receives federal funding from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to operate their shelters.
The Justice Department is seeking monetary damages to compensate the children harmed by the alleged harassment, civil penalties, and a court order barring future discrimination and requiring Southwest Key to take appropriate steps to prevent future harassment.
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“In search of the American Dream, children often endure perilous journeys on their migration north to the southern border,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Alamdar Hamdani.
“The sexual harassment alleged in the complaint would destroy any child’s sense of safety, turning what was an American Dream into a nightmare,” Hamdani said.
“We look forward to working together with the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas to provide justice for the victims who allegedly suffered harm in Southwest Key’s shelters,” he added.
“In search of the American Dream, children often endure perilous journeys on their migration north to the southern border,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Alamdar Hamdani.”
Children in search of the American Dream? The American dream is out of reach for many Americans who suffer under Bidenomics and it was Biden, by the way, who appointed Hamdani.
Again, they are not migrants they are Illegals! Once they get here they send for their whole family to come. Trump is right it is an invasion. Right, Golden?
Lets not forget Harris is in charge of the border…