Rio Grande Valley shelter for immigrant children halts operations, lays off hundreds – see where buildings are for sale

Southwest Key Programs Inc. is laying off hundreds of workers across Texas, including more than 420 in the Rio Grande Valley, according to several letters sent to state regulators under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. 

There have been several rounds of layoffs this year, including one starting on Oct. 1, with plans for more layoffs on Nov. 5. 

That’s because the company is taking longer to wind down its operations than initially planned, according to a WARN letter shared with the Texas Workforce Commission. 

For more than two decades, the nonprofit operated shelters for immigrant children across the U.S.-Mexico border region and employed more than 11,000 workers as recently as 2023, according to its 2024 filing for the nonprofit.