Actions raise concerns over children’s wellbeing; their locations are undisclosed
By Karen Pearlman
Miriam Raftery contributed to this story; photos by East County Magazine staff
Updated Aug. 15 with responses from federal officials
Aug. 14, 2025 (El Cajon) – Nonprofit Southwest Key Programs Inc. (photo, left) is no longer operating its site in El Cajon that had been housing unaccompanied immigrant children since the first Trump administration.
El Cajon City Manager Graham Mitchell told the City Council and staff on Monday via email that the United States’ largest provider of housing and services for unaccompanied minors has left the city.
“Larger employers are required by law to inform the City if they go out of businesses or initiate a large-scale layoff,” the email said. “Earlier today, the City received a notice from Southwest Key (operating on Broadway) that they lost federal funding and will be shutting down. As you recall, Southwest Key has been operating at the site for many years operating as a facility for unaccompanied minors that have entered into the United States from the southern U.S. border.”
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