HHS Stops Placing Illegal Immigrant Children in Southwest Key Shelters

The Department of Justice has also dropped its lawsuit against Texas-based Southwest Key Programs Inc.

Illegal immigrant children make their way inside a shelter for unaccompanied minors, in Brownsville, Texas, on June 23, 2018. Loren Elliott/Reuters

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated on March 12 that it has stopped placing unaccompanied illegal immigrant children in shelters operated by housing provider Southwest Key Programs Inc. over allegations of sexual abuse and harassment. HHS stated that it has moved all minors previously housed at those facilities to other shelters.

According to the department, it decided to stop placing children in Southwest Key facilities “out of continuing concerns relating to these placements.”