Austin, July 20 (RHC)-- A Texas-based nonprofit that contracts with federal immigration authorities subjected unaccompanied migrant children to pervasive sexual abuse for nearly a decade. 

That’s according to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department earlier this week, detailing how workers at Southwest Key Programs repeatedly sexually assaulted children under the organization’s care between 2015 to 2023.  Workers also forced migrant children to perform sexual acts and pose for nude photos while threatening the children so they would fear reporting any of the abuse.

Southwest Key is the largest private provider of housing for unaccompanied migrant children and receives grants from the Department of Health and Human Services.  It contracts with the Office of Refugee Resettlement.