As if the mess on our nation's borders wasn't bad enough already, we learn now that the Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against a federal contractor, Southwest Key Programs, alleging pervasive sexual abuse on the part of the contractor's employees against illegal immigrants - including children.

Migrant children held in the United States after crossing the border illegally were subject to “pervasive” sexual abuse at the hands of federal contractors, the Department of Justice said Wednesday.

The department filed a lawsuit against Southwest Key Programs, which operates homes for underage illegal immigrants awaiting placement with “sponsors” in the United States. Federal law bars minors who cross the border illegally from being returned to their home country. Southwest Key holds more than 6,000 children in 29 shelters staffed by “youth care workers.”

The lawsuit says Southwest Key records show staff members repeatedly covered for each other as they preyed on children.

The details that have been released are nothing short of shocking.

“A Southwest Key Youth Care Worker who in 2022 repeatedly sexually abused a five-year-old girl, an eight-year-old girl, and an eleven-year-old girl at Casa Franklin in El Paso, Texas,” the lawsuit says. “The eight-year-old girl disclosed that the Youth Care Worker repeatedly entered their bedrooms in the middle of the night to touch their ‘private area,’ and he threatened to kill their families if they disclosed the abuse.”

This is taxpayer-funded child trafficking, and nothing but.

SEE MORE: 

VA Senate Candidate Hung Cao Schools Pro-Hamas Immigrants at RNC: Embrace Our Culture or Don't Come

ON BRAND: MSNBC Journo Who Questioned Don Jr. About Kids in Cages Is at Center of Defamation Suit

Southwest Key reportedly has received $4 billion in government revenue since 2019, which is intended for the contractor to maintain shelters and homes for underage illegal immigrants. At present Southwest Key operates 29 shelters, housing over 6,000 children. The Department of Justice lawsuit alleges that not only did the sexual abuse of children take place on an unfathomable scale, but that Southwest Key employees covered for each other in the process.

It's unclear what screening was done on Southwest Key before they were taken on as a federal contractor, or what screening practices Southwest Key used in their hiring. As of this writing, there does not appear to be any public statement or reply to these allegations from Southwest Key.

Again, this would not be happening if we had control of our border. But it gets worse; these children are, at least, accounted for. Under the Biden administration, the influx of unaccompanied children (along with illegal immigrants in general) has spiked, presenting opportunities for criminal trafficking of minor children along with adults.

It's bad enough when cartels and coyotes victimize children. But when a federal contractor, funded by taxpayer dollars, has employees sexually abusing children, heads need to roll. The fact that some of the victims are children as young as five makes this all the more egregious. Southwest Key should be removed from the business of operating these shelters as swiftly as possible, and every employee of theirs who is accused of such abuse should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.