The Department of Justice (DOJ) has brought a lawsuit against Southwest Key, a non-profit organization based in Texas operating eight shelters for illegal immigrant children in Arizona. In the lawsuit, the DOJ alleges that the firm, through its employees, “has engaged in a pattern or practice of sexual abuse and harassment of the unaccompanied children.”
As reported by the Arizona Daily Independent, Southwest Key has profited greatly from operating the shelters through lucrative federal government grants in excess of $5.6 billion paid out from the Department of Health & Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement since 2003. The lawsuit from the DOJ is rooted in the company’s alleged violation of the Fair Housing Act.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas alleges that from 2015 through at least 2023, several Southwest Key employees “subjected children in their care to severe or pervasive sexual harassment that has included, among other things, sexual contact and inappropriate touching, solicitation of sex acts, solicitation of nude photos, entreaties for inappropriate relationships and sexual comments.”
The lawsuit charges Southwest Key with taking insufficient action to protect the children it was contracted to care for and furthermore failed to follow federal requirements for the prevention, detection, and reporting of abuse despite the Office of Refugee Relocation reportedly issuing several corrective actions against them.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in the release, “Sexual harassment of children in residential shelters, where a child should be safe and secure, is abusive, dehumanizing and unlawful. Sexual abuse of children is a crisis that we can’t ignore or turn a blind eye to. This lawsuit seeks relief for children who have been abused and harmed, and meaningful reforms to ensure no child in these shelters is ever subjected to sexual abuse again.”
U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani of the Southern District of Texas wrote, “In search of the American Dream, children often endure perilous journeys on their migration north to the southern border. The sexual harassment alleged in the complaint would destroy any child’s sense of safety turning what was an American Dream into a nightmare.”
“We look forward to working together with the Civil Rights Division (CRD) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas (WDTX) to provide justice for the victims who allegedly suffered harm in Southwest Key’s shelters.”
As noted by the Arizona Daily Independent, the outlet has reported on Southwest Key for more than ten years with cofounder and longtime contributor Loretta Hunnicutt citing her concerns publicly in reports and in meetings with public officials as early as 2014. Per the ADI, these efforts were met with “indifference or outright contempt for the minors.”
The ADI recapped the lengthy reports implicating Southwest Key writing in part:
“Hunnicutt met with former Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas in 2015 to ask that Southwest Key be directed to remove the fencing around their shelters in accordance with ORR policy, which prohibits fencing around the places where refugees reside. Fenced in by an organization paid billions to house them, America’s youngest refugees have had no escape. Douglas declined.”
“In December 2015, the Arizona Daily Independentreported on former Southwest Key employee whistleblowers who testified to running a corrupt, prison-like environment.”
“In response, then-Arizona State Rep. Bob Thorpe, who chaired the House Federalism, Property Rights and Public Policy Committee, called for an investigation into the Southwest Key facilities under contract by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).”
Sources within the company gave the ADI several startling reports as well telling the outlet:
“Children were viewed as commodities.”
“Under the constant directive of keeping costs down, staff were directed to ignore children’s complaints of hunger.”
Furthermore, they were “to give the children only a quarter-sized dollop of soap for bathing.”
Staff were also instructed to “give one child’s underwear to be reused for another.”
Through the lawsuit, the Department of Justice is seeking to exact monetary damages from Southwest Key in order to compensate the children victimized in the shelter and obtain a court order compelling Southwest Key to take the necessary steps to avoid future abuse.
The DOJ has requested that anyone who believe that they may have been victims of sexual harassment or abuse at Southwest Key shelters or who has information that may be relevant to this case, please contact the Justice Department’s housing discrimination tip line at 1-833-591-0291.
President Joe Biden’s time in the White House is mercifully coming to an end. He is now officially a lame duck with six months to go.
Biden was a victim here of a corrupt Democratic machine that — along with a complicit media — thought they could pull off a grand election-year deceit, despite his failing cognitive abilities. The Democratic establishment and a compliant media convinced millions of primary voters that Biden was of sound mind and ready to serve four more years. This lust for power put America in danger.
How could they be so unpatriotic?
So, where will Biden stand in the history books? He was not a failed president because of his declining cognitive abilities. It was his policies that wrecked America.
It is hard to point to a single policy that he got right. On the economy, he was catastrophically bad.
The trillions of dollars of debt he rung up bought nothing. He sent inflation to the highest levels in almost forty years.
The average family lost $2,000 of income after inflation during his reign. More people died of COVID during his presidency than Trump’s — despite the availability of the vaccine.
Interest rates rose. Biden declared war on American energy. He put America back into the Paris Climate Accord—and the rest of the world went on using more fossil fuels than ever. By impeding U.S. oil and gas production and pipelines he played into the hands of our enemies — China and Iran.
Gas prices rose. Small business confidence sagged. Poverty rates rose.
Then there was the sheer incompetence. The bungled Afghanistan withdrawal was a national security disaster. The border became a broken dam with millions seeking to illegally enter the country. The government spent $7.5 billion on electric vehicle chargers and only a handful got built.
Biden gave away hundreds of billions of dollars for an illegal and immoral student loan forgiveness program. He put regulators in charge of key agencies even though — or because — they hate business. A majority of his appointees had no business experience. It showed.
When he departs the White House in the months ahead he will leave the nation poorer, weaker, more divided, more in debt, more vulnerable, and less respected than when he entered office.
This was a man who pledged to unite the country and did just the opposite. He deserves to go down in history as one of the five worst presidents of the 20th and 21st century.
Here is my list starting with the worst: 1) Woodrow Wilson; 2) Herbert Hoover: 3) Jimmy Carter; 4) Joe Biden; 5) Barack Obama.
Now the Democrats want to run Vice President Kamala Harris, who was on board with every Biden policy and helped oversee the worst border catastrophe in modern history.
Just when you thought things could not get any worse.
Stephen Moore is a contributor to The Daily Caller News Foundation, visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and a co-founder of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity.
On June 13, 2024, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) released a critical report following a nearly three-year investigation into the Phoenix Police Department (PPD), alleging misconduct including excessive force, discrimination, and violations of homeless people’s rights. This report has prompted the DOJ to push the City of Phoenix to sign a consent decree, which would subject the PPD to court-ordered monitoring.
The report has stirred considerable debate among Phoenix city officials and residents. The DOJ’s findings have cast a spotlight on the PPD’s practices, while the proposed consent decree has raised concerns about federal overreach and its potential impact on local law enforcement.
Phoenix City Council members have voiced their concerns about the report and the implications of entering into a consent decree. Councilwoman Ann O’Brien emphasized the DOJ’s poor track record and the high costs associated with such agreements. She pointed to Seattle, where violent crime increased by 37% during its 10-year DOJ monitoring period, and Albuquerque, which saw a 53% rise in violent crime since 2015 under federal oversight.
Closer to home, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has incurred nearly $300 million in taxpayer costs since 2015 due to federal monitoring. This undue cost to the taxpayer equates to “defunding the police.”
Consent decrees for police departments began in 1994 with the “Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act,” a legislative response to the nationally publicized police beating of Rodney King. While police brutality is unequivocally unacceptable, there is significant debate over whether federal oversight through consent decrees is the best solution. Critics argue that such measures often lead to increased bureaucracy and hinder effective policing, ultimately harming the communities they aim to protect.
Despite the DOJ’s allegations, the City of Phoenix has taken proactive steps to address issues within its police department. The PPD has implemented significant reforms, including revising use-of-force practices, purchasing body cameras, and adopting a robust accountability program. Additionally, PPD officers are the highest paid in Arizona, a strategy aimed at recruiting and retaining top talent.
The Phoenix mayor and city council, elected by local voters, have demonstrated their accountability to the community through these reforms. They have succeeded in reducing crime while training police officers in modern policing practices. This local control and responsiveness to community needs are seen by many as preferable to federal intervention.
Community support for the PPD is strong. Phoenix residents, who are intimately familiar with their community’s unique needs and challenges, overwhelmingly favor local control over federal oversight. Ronald Reagan’s famous quote, “The most terrifying words in the English language: I’m from the government and I’m here to help,” resonates with many who fear that federal intervention could do more harm than good.
Phoenix has gone out of its way to cooperate with the DOJ, making sweeping reforms on its own. The PPD’s efforts to improve transparency, accountability, and community relations demonstrate a commitment to policing excellence without the need for federal intervention.
The City of Phoenix must now decide whether to voluntarily submit to a consent decree that mandates court-ordered control of the PPD or face the possibility of being taken to federal court by the DOJ. There they will be forced to plead their case to a federal judge.
The debate over the DOJ’s proposed consent decree is not just about police reform; it is also about maintaining local autonomy and ensuring that the residents of Phoenix have a say in how their city is governed. As Phoenix grapples with this issue, the city’s leaders and residents are urging the mayor and council to reject federal overreach and continue striving for safer streets and brighter futures through local control and community-based policing.
As the city moves forward, it remains to be seen whether the DOJ consent decree will be adopted or if Phoenix will be allowed to chart its own course, confident in its ability to manage and reform its police department without outside interference.
Paul Parisi is the Arizona Grassroots Director for Our America.
Last Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that “the Phoenix Police Department and the City of Phoenix engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law.”
“The Justice Department has concluded there is reasonable cause to believe that the City of Phoenix and the Phoenix Police Department engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives its residents and visitors, including Black, Hispanic, and Native American people, of their rights under the Constitution and federal law,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The release of today’s findings report is an important step toward accountability and transparency, and we are committed to working with the City of Phoenix and Phoenix Police Department on meaningful reform that protects the civil rights and safety of Phoenix residents and strengthens police-community trust.”
The DOJ found that:
“PhxPD uses excessive force, including unjustified deadly force and other types of force.
“PhxPD and the City unlawfully detain, cite, and arrest people experiencing homelessness and unlawfully dispose of their belongings. This is the first time the Department has found a pattern or practice of conduct that focuses on the rights of people experiencing homelessness.
“PhxPD discriminates against Black, Hispanic, and Native American people when enforcing the law.
“PhxPD violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech and expression.
“PhxPD and the City discriminate against people with behavioral health disabilities when dispatching calls for assistance and responding to people in crisis.”
In a message to City of Phoenix employees, City Manager Jeff Barton said, “We are taking all allegations seriously and are planning to review this lengthy report with an open mind… Self-reflection is an important step in continuous improvement, and our Police Department has demonstrated a commitment to reform by making improvements to policy, discipline, internal investigations and training.”
The City of Phoenix and Phoenix Police Department are reviewing the findings from a nearly three-year investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Read more: https://t.co/tQ8qKeZdHj
— City of Phoenix, AZ (@CityofPhoenixAZ) June 13, 2024
Phoenix Interim Policy Chief Michael Sullivan added, “We want to see not only what these individual incidents are that the Department of Justice refers to, but we also want to see whether it included policy change or whether it possibly included discipline, or other changes within the department as far as practices go.”
According to its press release, the DOJ shared that it had “provided a detailed briefing on the findings to the City and PhxPD on Tuesday and proposed that the parties agree in principle to negotiate expeditiously and in good faith to reach a comprehensive court-enforceable settlement with independent monitoring.”
The Arizona Senate Republicans Caucus was less diplomatic than the City of Phoenix in the aftermath of the release of the report, writing, “The weaponized and radical Department of Justice is at it again, this time targeting our selfless public servants within the Phoenix Police Department who risk their lives everyday. Biden’s corrupt DOJ is out of control and is working against our citizens and our republic. We will always back the blue, our policies will continue to reflect that notion, and we will continue to speak out against the injustices our men and women in law enforcement are subjected to at the hands of the radical left.”
The weaponized and radical Department of Justice is at it again, this time targeting our selfless public servants within the Phoenix Police Department who risk their lives everyday.
Biden’s corrupt DOJ is out of control and is working against our citizens and our republic.
A bill to govern settlement agreements in Arizona was recently vetoed by the state’s governor.
Last month, Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed HB 2275, which would have “require[d] a city, town or county to submit a settlement agreement report to outlined parties for review before entering into a settlement agreement,” according to the purpose statement from the state Senate.
The proposed terms of settlement agreements that are over $500,000 would have to be submitted to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Attorney General. Settlement agreements over one million dollars would have to be submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
In her veto letter to Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma, Hobbs wrote, “This legislation is unnecessary and undermines the separation of powers doctrine in state government, ultimately harming the best interests of Arizona’s taxpayers.”
State Representative David Marshall, a Republican who sponsored this bill, testified in favor of his proposal in front of the House Government Committee. He said that “the reason this bill was brought [was] because the DOJ has gone across our country into 23 of our police departments…and taken control of these police departments.” He referenced the DOJ’s ten-years-and-counting involvement with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department, costing taxpayers over 200 million dollars – and he noted that the DOJ may be close to a settlement with the City of Phoenix. Marshall added that “this bill is to protect our police departments.”
When the bill was being considered in the state House, it passed in February with a 31-27 vote (with one member not voting and one seat vacant). After being transmitted to the state Senate, it was amended and given the green light with a 16-13 vote (with one member not voting). The House concurred with the changes, approving the legislation with a 31-26 vote (with three members not voting).
On the Arizona Legislature’s Request to Speak system, representatives from the Arizona Trial Lawyers Association, City of Avondale, City of Glendale, Town of Gilbert, City of Goodyear, City of Peoria, City of Sedona, Arizona Attorney General’s Office, County Supervisors Association of Arizona, Town of Florence, Arizona Association of Counties, City of Flagstaff, City of Eloy, City of Litchfield Park, League of Arizona Cities & Towns, Pima County, Town of Oro Valley, City of Tolleson, City of Surprise, Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police, and City of Apache Junction signed in to oppose the bill.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
