The Trump administration cuts the ties with the migrant shelter provider after abandoning the demand for child abuse

The decision seems to conclude a gradual reversal of fortune for Southwest Key, who has worked with the federal government to More than two decadesoperating more than 25 shelters in Texas, Arizona and California. It has been awarded More than $ 6 billion In federal funds since 2007. After the HHS announced that it would review its subsidies to the southwest of Key, Mrs. Miracle, the spokeswoman, said that the government had frozen funds and established an order of stopping stop in the key shelters of the Southwest, forcing the non -profit organization to about 5,000 employees.

Minor migrants for the federal government have been a financial blessing for contractors such as Southwest Key, whose award money more than duplicate During the family separation policy supervised by Mr. Trump in 2017 and 2018. He was one of several suppliers he charged as administration scrambled to find shelter For more than 5,000 forced children to federal custody, turning the care of migrant children into a Business of billions of dollars With little transparency.

The New York Times revealed in 2018 that the Southwest key He had channeled government money through a network of profit companies to convert public funds into private money for the organization and pay the senior executives millions of dollars. Shortly after, the Department of Justice He opened an investigation in possible financial irregularities. Southwest Key also began an internal investigation and high -level executives, including its founder and financial director, He finally resigned.

The complaint filed by the Department of Justice last year revealed that Southwest Key had documented dozens of abuse reported by the children, the most of which they were 13 to 17 years old and came from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. But Southwest Key employees did not report the abuse they had observed or known, or no violation of the policies aimed at protecting minors.

In an account, a worker who sexually abused three girls of 5, 8 and 11 years threatened to kill their families if they said it. In another case documented by Southwest Key, a supervisor deliberately changed the changes to be alone with a teenager who violated, abused and threatened repeatedly. At night, he would enter his room and those of others in violation of Southwest Key’s policies. The girl was transferred to a different refuge after informing abuse.

At that time, a spokeswoman for Southwest Key said that the complaint did not “present the precise image of the care and commitment that our employees provide to young people and children”, and that the company remained focused on “the safety, health and well -being” of children in their shelters.