“Unaccompanied minors” at south Texas border, Author US Customs and Border Protection (PD as work product of US Dept. of Homeland Security)
Levian Pacheco of Casa Kokopelli – one of eight federally funded private shelters Southwest Key operates in Arizona – has been accused of sexually molesting at least 8 migrant boys between the ages of 15 and 17 at that facility [1].
Fernando Negrete, also employed by Southwest Key, has meanwhile been charged with groping a 14 year old migrant girl [2].
The Arizona Dept. of Health has cited Casa Kokopelli for failure to complete background checks on employees. Yet, Southwest Key has received over $1 billion in funds for its shelters.
Police nationwide have responded to hundreds of calls reporting sex crimes against immigrant children held by the government at shelters.
Tragically, this is not the only situation in which illegal immigrants are vulnerable to exploitation. Fleeing poverty and violence, an estimated 17,000 to 19,000 immigrants are trafficked into the United States each year [3]. Continue reading
ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse 