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. 

In the Rio Grande Valley, the non-profit once operated more than a dozen sites, mainly in Brownsville, including immigrant shelter care contracts for unaccompanied minors. 

Explore an interactive map of Southwest Key’s former shelters and rental properties across Texas and the U.S.–Mexico border region here.

In July 2024, the Biden administration filed a federal lawsuit against Southwest Key Programs, alleging sexual abuse of children. 

In March 2025, the Trump administration revoked the nonprofit’s federal contracts and dismissed the lawsuit. 

“Although we hoped the suspension would be lifted and that we would be able to continue providing program services under various federal grants, unfortunately, the company just learned it will be unable to do so…and instead must demobilize and wind down operations of these programs,” Anita Rader, vice president of Human Resources of Southwest Key Programs Inc., said in a WARN Act letter.

But a large facility in North McAllen, which was once a nursing home and later a migrant shelter for children, is up for sale yet again. Southwest Key owned several of its properties across Texas, but some offices were rented, records show.