The U.S. government has filed a lawsuit against Southwest Key Programs Inc., its largest provider of temporary shelter for underage migrants, alleging widespread sexual abuse and harassment of children in its care. The civil rights suit claims that employees of the nonprofit subjected unaccompanied migrant children to severe sexual abuse, rape, solicitation of sex, inappropriate relationships, and other forms of sexual misconduct. The government has paid Southwest Key over $3 billion between 2015 and 2023 for housing and caring for unaccompanied migrant children. Southwest Key responded by stating that the safety and well-being of the children in its care is its top priority. The lawsuit includes multiple allegations of sexually abusive behavior, some of which were known to Southwest Key employees but not reported. In one case, a girl reported being raped and abused by a youth care worker at a facility in Texas. Another incident involved a worker having a relationship with a teenager at a shelter in Brownsville. The number of migrant children held by the government or its contractors reached nearly 70,000 in 2019, leading to a scramble for beds and the use of detention camps. Spending on housing and care for unaccompanied migrant children reached $6.5 billion last year. The lawsuit aims to hold Southwest Key accountable for the alleged abuse and harassment of vulnerable children in its care.
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