The US Department of Justice has launched an investigation into allegations of widespread sexual abuse of unaccompanied migrant children housed in shelters operated by Southwest Key Programs Inc., a non-profit organization that has received over $3 billion in federal contracts since 2015.
According to the DOJ, hundreds of cases of sexual abuse have been reported, including instances of rape, molestation, and exploitation of children as young as eight years old. The alleged abuse occurred at 29 shelters in Texas, Arizona, and California, which have a combined capacity to house over 1,000 children.
The investigation has identified more than 100 cases of sexual abuse, with the DOJ assuming that there may be even more. The lawsuit alleges that employees of the shelters threatened children to maintain their silence, exploited their vulnerabilities, language barriers, and distance from family and loved ones.
In some cases, employees allegedly took children to hotels and forced them to perform sexual acts. In one instance, an employee was accused of abusing three young girls, while in another, an employee took an 11-year-old boy to a hotel and forced him to perform sexual acts for several days.
The DOJ lawsuit states that children were threatened with physical violence and told that their families back home would be harmed if they did not comply with demands for sex and then stay silent about the abuse.
The allegations have sparked outrage, with Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) criticizing the Biden administration for facilitating the migrant crisis and funding organizations that allegedly engage in the sexual abuse of children. Lee wrote, “So… the administration facilitating the border crisis has… contracted with a housing provider engaged in the systematic sexual abuse of children. Millstones that large don’t even exist.”
The investigation has also raised concerns about the Biden administration’s handling of human trafficking, with officials accusing the regime of aiding human trafficking for the sex trade. In March, Polk County, Florida, Sheriff Grady Judd held a press conference and pointed out that the Department of Homeland Security facilitates sex trafficking by allowing illegal migrants to travel by air for free with vouchers and ID cards.
