Ranking Member Cassidy Seeks Hearing to Investigate ORR Contractor Amid Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Migrant Children

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, called on HELP Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to hold a hearing to investigate Southwest Key Programs Inc., an Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) contractor, over allegations of sexual abuse of unaccompanied migrant children in its care. Recently, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against Southwest Key, alleging that its employees have engaged in a pattern or practice of sexual abuse and harassment of unaccompanied children in its shelters since at least 2015.

Southwest Key currently operates 29 shelters that can house up to 6,300 unaccompanied migrant children, making it the largest shelter provider for unaccompanied children in ORR custody nationwide.

"This lawsuit adds to a long list of failures by ORR to keep unaccompanied children safe, and the time has come for this Committee to hold a hearing with ORR officials to learn more about the steps the agency is taking to protect the children in its care and prevent abuse," wrote Dr. Cassidy. "It is also necessary to ensure both ORR and its contractors are remaining accountable to Congress and not stonewalling oversight efforts into their practices."

"Accordingly, I implore you to hold a hearing with ORR officials and representatives from Southwest Key as soon as practicable to investigate how these allegations of sexual harassment went undetected for so long, putting hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children in harm's way," continued Dr. Cassidy.

In its lawsuit, DOJ alleges that multiple Southwest Key employees subjected children to "sexual contact and inappropriate touching, solicitation of sex acts, solicitation of nude photos, entreaties for inappropriate relationships and sexual comments." DOJ also alleges that Southwest Key not only failed to take sufficient action to prevent sexual abuse, but discouraged children from officially reporting these shocking incidents. During Cassidy's years-long investigation into the exploitation of migrant children, he has found that ORR has repeatedly silenced whistleblowers and punished those who have come forward to report abuse of these children.

Earlier this year, Cassidy hosted a roundtable to discuss the Biden-Harris administration's failures to protect unaccompanied children from exploitation and abuse. Particularly, he blasted the administration for failing to cooperate with his investigation and its attempts to block other government contractors from responding to Cassidy's inquiries.

Read the full letter here or below.

Chair Sanders:

I write to request that the Committee hold a hearing to investigate the treatment of unaccompanied children in the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). As I am sure you are aware, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) recently filed a lawsuit against Southwest Key Programs Inc., alleging that its employees have engaged in a pattern or practice of sexual abuse and harassment of unaccompanied children in its shelters since at least 2015.¹ Southwest Key operates 29 shelters that provide temporary housing for unaccompanied children in Texas, Arizona, and California, and is the largest housing provider for unaccompanied children in the United States. In total, it has been awarded more than $5.5 billion in contracts from the federal government since 2014 to care for unaccompanied children.²

This issue is ripe for oversight. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) has primary jurisdiction over ORR and is therefore responsible for ensuring that the administration is doing everything possible to keep unaccompanied children in ORR custody safe from abuse and harassment.

DOJ's lawsuit alleges despicable acts of abuse towards unaccompanied children at facilities directly overseen by ORR. Specifically, it alleges that Southwest Key employees subjected children to "severe or pervasive sexual harassment" that included "sexual contact and inappropriate touching, solicitation of sex acts, solicitation of nude photos, entreaties for inappropriate relationships and sexual comments."³ It also alleges that Southwest Key took insufficient action to prevent this harassment, failed to constantly follow federal requirements for preventing, detecting, and reporting this harassment, and discouraged children from disclosing sexual harassment in violation of federal requirements.⁴

According to DOJ, ORR has "issued multiple corrective actions to Southwest Key,"⁵ but the allegations of pervasive sexual harassment for nearly a decade show that ORR did not do enough to ensure the children under its care were protected. In fact, ORR continues to give Southwest Key hundreds of millions of dollars per year to care for tens of thousands of unaccompanied children.⁶ If this harassment went undetected at its largest grantee for so many years, there are serious questions about the treatment of unaccompanied children at other ORR facilities and what steps ORR is taking to detect and prevent abuse. Furthermore, as I have learned throughout my investigation into ORR, the agency has repeatedly silenced whistleblowers and punished those who have come forward to report abuse. ORR has also been extremely reluctant to provide substantive answers to my oversight inquiries, or those from other congressional offices.

This lawsuit adds to a long list of failures by ORR to keep unaccompanied children safe, and the time has come for this Committee to hold a hearing with ORR officials to learn more about the steps the agency is taking to protect the children in its care and prevent abuse. It is also necessary to ensure both ORR and its contractors are remaining accountable to Congress and not stonewalling oversight efforts into their practices. Accordingly, I implore you to hold a hearing with ORR officials and representatives from Southwest Key as soon as practicable to investigate how these allegations of sexual harassment went undetected for so long, putting hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children in harm's way.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

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