East Austin Nonprofit Applies To Detain Immigrant Children

EAST AUSTIN, TX — An Austin-based nonprofit that runs more than two dozen shelters across Texas is being criticized locally for asking state regulators to house immigrant children separated from their parents as they enter the southern border.

As reported by the Austin American-Statesman, Southwest Key Programs is best known locally for its education programs, including East Austin College Prep, a public charter school in East Austin. But the organization also operates youth justice and wellness programs and 27 immigrant children shelters in Texas, Arizona and California. The nonprofit has taken in thousands of migrant children arriving in the U.S. alone since 1997, according to the report.

The Trump administration has cracked down on immigration by implementing a policy of separating children from their parents, housing minors in detention facilities euphemistically labeled as tent cities. Since the policy took effect in April, some 2,000 immigrant children have been taken away from their parents.

Last month, Southwest Key was housing more than half of the 4,204 immigrant children at facilities in Texas with contracts with the Office of Refugee Resettlement, according to the most recent state data referenced by the Statesman in its report. The data does not differentiate between unaccompanied children and those separated from their families, according to the report.

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The role Southwest Key plays in effectively incarcerating children as a deterrent for future immigration came into greater focus when U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, was denied into into one of the nonprofit's facilities in Brownsville, a South Texas town near the U.S.-Mexico border. Subsequent to that incident that was widely covered, the San Antonio Express-News reported about 150 health violations at such shelters.

The finding prompted Southwest Key spokeswoman Cindy Casares to to issue a statement:

“As a 24-hour child care provider licensed by the State of Texas, Southwest Key Programs has served 23,000 children over the last two years in our Texas unaccompanied minor shelters,” Casares wrote. “In the last three years, Southwest Key (unaccompanied minor) shelter programs in Texas have been evaluated for compliance on 73,292 standards and we are proud to say that less than 1 percent of those resulted in a deficiency. However, we take each of the deficiencies seriously by self-reporting to invite external investigations as well as performing our own internal investigations. When called for, staff have been terminated or retrained as we continue to strive for excellence in the services we provide to the children entrusted to our care.”

Southwest Key is located in East Austin at 6002 Jain Lane. In addition currently accepting enrollment applications to its East Austin College Prep, the nonprotie also runs a program dubbed "Mi Hermana's Keeper" (My Sister's Keeper) described as "A promising practice for Juvenile Justice Prevention Programs supporting Latina Youth." In November, the group will be staging its first annual Dream Big Gala, featuring both a silent and live auction as well as a program to highlight Southwest Key's mission, officials wrote on their website. All funds raised at the event will help thousands of at-risk youth annually in the Austin area and throughout the U.S., according to the website.

>>> Read the full story at Austin American-Statesman

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