Feds sue Southwest Keys for ‘severe sexual harassment’ of migrant children

Federal authorities are suing Southwest Key, an organization long steeped in controversy in the Rio Grande Valley and across the country that houses migrant children.

The federal government filed a complaint against Southwest Key on Wednesday, alleging it discriminated “because of sex in violation of the Fair Housing Act by subjecting unaccompanied children residing in its shelters to severe and pervasive sexual harassment by employees.”

“The complaint also alleges that Southwest Key failed to take sufficient action to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse and sexual harassment to protect children,” a notice on the Department of Justice’s website stated.

The organization — a national nonprofit — operates at least 29 shelters in Texas, Arizona and California. It is the largest such organization in the country.

FAILURE TO PROTECT

The litigation was filed by the DOJ in an Austin federal court and says from at least 2015 through 2023, multiple Southwest Key employees have subjected unaccompanied migrant children “in their care to repeated and unwelcome sexual abuse, harassment, and misconduct and a hostile housing environment, including severe sexual abuse and rape, solicitation of sex acts, solicitation of nude photos, entreaties for sexually inappropriate relationships, sexual comments and gestures, leering, and inappropriate touching.”

And in some cases, the lawsuit said, the employees have threatened children to maintain their silence.

“In harassing these children, these Southwest Key employees exploited the children’s vulnerabilities, language barriers, and distance from family and loved ones,” the lawsuit stated.

Federal authorities said that despite knowledge “of these severe and pervasive harms,” Southwest Key has failed to protect the children it is supposed to care for, which they allege constitutes a pattern or practice of discrimination in housing because of sex in violation of the Fair Housing Act. 

The children in their care ranged from as young as 5 years old to teenagers just shy of adulthood. Many of them arrived at the border, mainly from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras or Mexico, among other countries.

“Many of these children travel without their parents or guardians and endure dangerous conditions and traumatic treatment both in their home countries and during their journey to the United States,” the lawsuit stated.

When the children arrive in the United States, they are taken into federal custody and transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, or ORR, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, which provides the nonprofit with federal grants.

As of now, Southwest Key operates 29 shelters that can accommodate 6,350 children across Texas, which has 17; Arizona, which has 10; and California, which has two.

In the Valley, the nonprofit has shelters in Weslaco, Brownsville, McAllen, San Benito and Los Fresnos. Brownsville has four shelters, including Casa Padre, which is a converted Walmart that can hold 1,200 children — the nonprofit’s largest shelter.

Casa Padre was under much scrutiny during former President Donald Trump’s family separation policy. Politicians and media from across the country descended on the location along with local media as the nonprofit was shrouded in secrecy at the time in terms of the conditions inside.

An Oregon senator was initially turned away and Brownsville police were called, but Southwest Key relented and gave a much publicized congressional tour.

Shortly thereafter, Trump rescinded family separation.

In a statement, Southwest Key Chief Communications Officer Anais Biera Miracle said the nonprofits primary focus is on the safety, health and well-being of all the children it cares for.

“We continue to review the complaint, and it does not present the accurate picture of the care and commitment our employees provide to the youth and children,” Miracle said in the statement. “We are in constant communication and continue to closely partner with the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), as we have done so for the past two decades to ensure the children and youth entrusted to our care are safe with us during their short stay with Southwest Key.”

‘UNWELCOME SEXUAL ABUSE’

Allegations of sexual abuse were already surfacing at the time prior to and during that congressional visit. There were also reports of runaway children from the location, including one child who took a bus back to Honduras. 

The lawsuit said those complaints began in 2015.

“Since at least 2015, multiple Southwest Key employees — including supervisory and non-supervisory employees — have subjected children living at Southwest Key shelter care homes to severe, pervasive, and unwelcome sexual abuse and harassment, including as documented by Southwest Key Reports,” the lawsuit stated.

That document cites sexual assault and rape, inappropriate relationships with children, sexual coercion, requests for sexually explicit photos of children, repeated unwelcome and unwanted entreaties for inappropriate relationships, sexual comments and gestures, and sexual voyeurism.

In May 2022, an employee in McAllen sexually touched boys during transport.

“Four days after that incident, another Report recounts that the same Youth Care Worker attempted to sexually touch a different teenage boy during transport from shelter care at Casa El Presidente in Brownsville … to reunify the child with his guardian,” the lawsuit stated.

This individual also followed that child into a bathroom later and tried to exchange phone numbers to meet up afterward, according to the lawsuit.

His name is Rodolgo Alanis, 61. He has since been indicted in federal court in McAllen on three counts of abusive sexual contact. He has pleaded not guilty.

“Southwest Key Reports, documents, and video detail a Southwest Key Youth Care Worker who in 2019 and 2020 engaged in a long-term inappropriate relationship with a teenager in shelter care at Casa Padre in Brownsville,” the lawsuit stated.

Multiple other Southwest Key employees knew of the relationship, but did not report it.

“Video footage shows the Youth Care Worker kissing the teenager in the dormitories. The Youth Care Worker had helped other children run away from Southwest Key, and indeed, shortly after this inappropriate relationship was disclosed, it was discovered that the teenager involved had run away as well,” the lawsuit stated.

In October 2021, at Casa Padre in Brownsville, two 17-year-old boys reported that a male employee made sexual comments to them.

“The Youth Care Worker told one boy that his mustache looked good on him, requested the child meet him in the restroom, and mentioned his sexual preference for men,” the lawsuit stated.

The lawsuit also details a February 2022 incident at Casa Norma Linda in Los Fresnos when an employee reported that another employee was involved in an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old girl.

“The girl told a peer that she was in a relationship with a Youth Care Worker and, when the girl was discharged, she left a love letter and a bracelet for the Youth Care Worker,” the lawsuit stated. “The girl’s letter stated that she loved the Youth Care Worker, was happy to know that he feels the same way about her, and could not wait for him to ‘teach her all he says that he wants to teach her.’”

Two other employees knew about this, assisted the relationship by facilitating communication and did not report it.

Then there’s the cases in San Benito at Casa Rio Grande and Casa Antigua, both of which happened in 2019.

In one instance, a child reported that a male employee told him he liked dating “transexuals, transgenero, personas gay.”

“The Youth Care Worker asked the child if he dressed as a woman and went to work at night; while asking this, the Youth Care Worker caressed his own groin,” the lawsuit stated.

When the child complained, they were transferred to a shelter in another state and the employee was reinstated at the same location.

That same year, another San Benito Southwest Key employee told a 12-year-old girl she was attractive and made inappropriate comments to her.

And at Casa Nueva Esperanza in Brownsville, an employee discouraged a child from reporting harassment, telling her it would delay her reunification with her family or adversely impact her placement with a sponsor.

Language barriers also factor into the sexual abuse.

“One employee at Casa Nueva Esperanza in Brownsville … reported Guatemala has ‘difficult’ languages and some of the children from Guatemala do not understand Spanish,” the lawsuit stated. “The employee explained that if a child speaking one of these languages needed to report sexual abuse, they could make a report to the Guatemalan consulate.”

The allegations also span far beyond the Valley, including incidents across Texas and Arizona.

THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE

In a news release, federal officials released a stream of statements saying that Southwest Key has turned the American Dream into a nightmare.

Alamdar S. Hamdani, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Attorney, said these children endure perilous journeys north and that the sexual harassment alleged would destroy any child’s sense of safety and turn the American Dream into a nightmare.

He said his office looks forward to working with prosecutors “to provide justice for the victims who allegedly suffered harm in Southwest Key’s shelters.”

Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general with the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said the sexual harassment of children in residential shelters is abusive, dehumanizing and unlawful.

“Sexual abuse of children is a crisis that we can’t ignore or turn a blind eye to,” Clarke said. “The 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.”

Jaime Esparza, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, said every child has a right to feel safe in shelter care.

“This lawsuit seeks to provide a pathway for justice and healing for these children, who are among the most vulnerable in our society,” Esparza said.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said his agency has a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of sexual abuse and harassment. He said the complaint against Southwest Key raises concerns of a serious pattern of practice, adding that his agency will work closely with the DOJ to hold programs like Southwest Key accountable.

“And we will continue to closely evaluate our assignment of children into care-giving programs to ensure the safety and well-being of every child in DHHS custody,” Becerra said.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new information.