US drops lawsuit against shelter provider alleging sexual abuse of migrant kids

The Department of Justice dropped a civil rights lawsuit filed last year against the national nonprofit Southwest Key Programs alleging its employees had sexually abused unaccompanied minors who were housed in its shelters after entering the country illegally, according to a court filing on Wednesday.

The department decided to drop the lawsuit after the Department of Health and Human Services stopped the placement of unaccompanied migrant children in shelters operated by Southwest Key and initiated a review of its grants with the organization, HHS said in a press release on Wednesday. The health department said it has moved all children in Southwest Key shelters to other shelters.