Justice Department sues Southwest Key for sexual abuse and harassment of children in shelters

HOUSTON - The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Southwest Key Programs Inc., a Texas-based nonprofit that provides housing to unaccompanied children who are encountered at the southern land border of the United States.

The lawsuit alleges Southwest Key, through its employees, has engaged in a pattern or practice of sexual abuse and harassment of unaccompanied children in Southwest Key shelters in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

"In search of the American Dream, children often endure perilous journeys on their migration north to the southern border. The sexual harassment alleged in the complaint would destroy any child's sense of safety turning what was an American Dream into a nightmare," said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani of the SDTX. "We look forward to working together with the Civil Rights Division (CRD) and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas (WDTX) to provide justice for the victims who allegedly suffered harm in Southwest Key's shelters."

"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 CRD. "Sexual abuse of children is a crisis that we can't ignore or turn a blind eye to. 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."

"Every child has the right to feel safe and secure in their dwelling, including in shelter care," said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the WDTX. "This lawsuit seeks to provide a pathway for justice and healing for these children, who are among the most vulnerable in our society."

"Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, inappropriate sexual behavior and discrimination," said DHHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. "The Department of Justice's (DOJ) complaint against Southwest Key raises serious pattern or practice concerns. DHHS will continue to work with DOJ and oversight agencies to hold its care-giving 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."

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. Southwest Key receives grants from the DHHS Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to provide housing and other care for unaccompanied children at these shelters. Unaccompanied children are minors who enter the United States without parents or other legal guardians and without lawful immigration status in the United States. The shelters are the children's homes until they are reunited with their immediate families or placed with a relative or other vetted sponsor while their immigration cases proceed.

The lawsuit, filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the WDTX, alleges that, from 2015 through at least 2023, multiple Southwest Key employees subjected children in their care to severe or pervasive sexual harassment that has included, among other things, sexual contact and inappropriate touching, solicitation of sex acts, solicitation of nude photos, entreaties for inappropriate relationships and sexual comments. The complaint further alleges that Southwest Key took insufficient action to prevent sexual harassment of the children in its care, failed to consistently follow federal requirements for preventing, detecting and reporting abuse including sexual harassment, failed to take appropriate or sufficient action to protect the children in its care and discouraged children from disclosing sexual harassment in violation of federal requirements, despite ORR having issued multiple corrective actions to Southwest Key.

The department's lawsuit seeks monetary damages to compensate children the alleged harassment children harmed, a civil penalty to vindicate the public interest and a court order barring future discrimination and requiring Southwest Key to take appropriate steps to prevent such harassment in the future.

Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of sexual harassment or abuse at Southwest Key shelters or who have other information that may be relevant to this case, may contact the Justice Department's housing discrimination tip line at 1-833-591-0291. For Spanish dial "2," then dial "2" for sexual harassment cases and dial "3" for the Southwest Key lawsuit mailbox. For English dial "1," then dial "2" for sexual harassment cases and dial "9" for the Southwest Key lawsuit mailbox. Individuals can also email the Justice Department or report through our online portal.

The CRD leads the Justice Department's Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative in coordination with U.S. Attorneys' Offices across the country. The initiative seeks to address and raise awareness about sexual harassment by people who have control over housing. Since launching the initiative in October 2017, the department has filed 43 lawsuits alleging sexual harassment in housing and recovered over $17 million for victims of such harassment.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available here.