WASHINGTON — The largest housing supplier for unaccompanied migrant kids nabbed billions of {dollars} in grants from the Biden administration — and used the large windfall to spice up and even double some executives’ salaries, in keeping with tax filings and data solely obtained by The Put up.
Southwest Key Applications pulled down roughly $3 billion in federal taxpayer funds between fiscal years 2021 and 2024, in keeping with information compiled by the US Division of Well being and Human Companies (HHS), to assist shelter and place migrant children with US sponsors as border crossings hit an all-time excessive below President Joe Biden.
Over roughly the identical interval, the Austin, Texas-based nonprofit’s higher-ups additionally raked in a lot increased take-home pay — with the group’s president disclosing a whopping 139% improve, per the newest tax filings.
On the similar time, Southwest Key was hit with investigations — and a federal lawsuit — that alleged some migrant children in its care have been sexually abused by staff or else handed over to traffickers.
Anselmo Villarreal, who turned the group’s president and CEO in February 2021, was paid $491,642 over the course of that first fiscal yr — however noticed his compensation skyrocket to $1,174,551 by fiscal yr 2023.
Different Southwest Key executives — together with chief human sources official Jose Arroyo Davila and its chief data officer Andy Harper — noticed their salaries doubled, to the $600,000 vary.
Eric Marin, the group’s CFO, earned $349,232 in fiscal yr 2021, however his successor, Roberto Flores, took down $583,139 two years later.
One other good earner, Geraldo Rivera, the senior VP of immigration companies and later chief program officer, surged from $312,791 to $555,998 the yr earlier than Biden left workplace.
Based on extra inner fee data obtained by The Put up, these executives and a dozen different prime staff at Southwest Key recorded these six-figure wage surges in the course of the first two years of the Biden administration — with will increase starting from 10% to as excessive as 112%.
Southwest Key Applications chief of employees Christina Cantu, for instance, was making solely $86,300 in 2019. By fiscal yr 2022, Cantu’s earnings was recorded at $326,228.
An HHS Workplace of Inspector Normal report in September 2020 had additionally already discovered Southwest Key improperly padding their executives’ pockets with increased pay and bonuses.
On common, the highest 5 government salaries recorded in types filed with the IRS spiked from $420,000 to $720,000 between 2021 and 2023 — whilst its funds have been within the purple by thousands and thousands of {dollars} for 2 of these three fiscal years.
These pay hikes additionally got here as a handful of Southwest Key officers — together with its prime lobbyist Vivian Panting — have been sending small-dollar donations to Democratic marketing campaign funds.
One other vp on the group, Veronica Delgado-Savage, contributed greater than $700 to Biden’s after which Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 marketing campaign and related PAC, FEC data present. Her earnings throughout their administration rose from $297,792 to $326,086.
Southwest Key’s upward-trending pay below Biden was first reported on by The Free Press in Might 2024, earlier than the group’s 2023 filings have been made public.
Biden’s HHS doled out roughly half of the $6 billion in taxpayer funding the nonprofit has taken in since 2003 — however the money infusion didn’t enhance outcomes for the youngsters in its care.
The Justice Division sued Southwest Key Applications final July, accusing some supervisors and staff of “severe” and “pervasive” rape and intercourse abuse of the youngsters between 2015 and 2023.
Congressional investigations had additionally uncovered proof that the group positioned the migrant children who entered the US with unvetted sponsors who allegedly trafficked or exploited them.
“Not only did the Biden-Harris administration create the worst border crisis in American history — it empowered opportunistic nonprofits like Southwest Key Programs and Endeavors to profit off it,” Home Homeland Safety Committee Chairman Mark Inexperienced (R-Tenn.) instructed The Put up.
“This Congress, the Homeland Security Committee has continued uncovering the Biden administration’s use of taxpayer funds to fuel its border boondoggle,” added the chairman, whose panel uncovered among the non-governmental teams that hit pay dust.
“We remain committed to ensuring the federal government is a good steward of taxpayers’ hard-earned money and will be vigilantly pursuing those who unduly profited at the expense of innocent Americans.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) wrote a letter to Villarreal final yr informing him of among the astounding whistleblower testimonies which were submitted to his workplace documenting “possible child-trafficking rings” amongst these sponsors.
One of many whistleblowers revealed {that a} migrant youngster had been shuttled to a home with “likely MS-13” gang-affiliated members.
Southwest Key solely produced “lazy and obstructive” responses to data requests, in keeping with one other letter Grassley fired off on Monday.
Trump’s DOJ withdrew from its civil case in opposition to Southwest Key on Wednesday, nonetheless, and HHS introduced in an announcement Wednesday that it’ll now not fund the Texas nonprofit.
“Out of continuing concerns relating to these placements, HHS has decided to stop placement of unaccompanied alien children in Southwest Key facilities, and to review its grants with the organization,” famous the general public well being company, which coordinated with the Division of Homeland Safety to deal with the inflow of migrant kids.
“In view of HHS’ action, the Department of Justice has dismissed its lawsuit against Southwest Key.”
A spokesperson for Southwest Key Applications stated in an announcement Wednesday that the group was “pleased” in regards to the case’s dismissal and “strongly denied the claims relating to child sexual abuse in our shelters.”
“There is no settlement or payment required,” the spokesperson added, earlier than blaming a Trump admin-imposed authorities funding freeze for five,000 layoffs.
A spokeswoman for Grassley instructed The Put up Friday: “It is disgusting that vulnerable children suffered sexual abuse under Southwest Key’s watch. Senator Grassley has contacted the DOJ seeking clarity regarding its dismissal of the Southwest Key lawsuit, and looks forward to a follow-up conversation soon.”
Based on an August 2024 report from DHS’ inspector common, a minimum of 32,000 migrant children went lacking within the US after being launched by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which coordinated with HHS on sponsor placement within the US.
One other 291,000 have been launched to the home sponsors, not all of whom have been correctly vetted after DHS and HHS reached an settlement to now not require “biographic and biometric (fingerprints) information for all potential sponsors and adult members of their household,” the report discovered.
As border crossings climbed in 2022, Biden’s HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra had additionally been pressuring employees to launch migrant kids to sponsors as shortly as doable, likening the perfect turnover charge to an “assembly line,” The New York Instances reported.
“This administration is working fearlessly to end the tragedy of human trafficking and other abuses of unaccompanied alien children who enter the country illegally,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. stated of the termination of Southwest Key Applications grants on Wednesday.
“For too long, pernicious actors have exploited such children both before and after they enter the United States. Today’s action is a significant step toward ending this appalling abuse of innocents.”
A rep for Southwest Key Applications didn’t reply to requests for remark.
