Centering Survivors, Not Symbols: Dolores Huerta and the Meaning of This Moment, by Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

Centering Survivors, Not Symbols: Dolores Huerta and the Meaning of This Moment

by

Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

March 18, 2026

There are moments when the stories we inherit ask something difficult of us. This is one of them. Dolores Huerta, at nearly 96 years old, has broken a silence she carried for more than half a century. In her own words, she was “manipulated and pressured,” and later “forced, against [her] will,” into sexual encounters with Cesar Chavez at a time when he was her boss, someone she admired, and the central figure in a movement she had already given her life to. 

She tells us she stayed silent because the movement mattered—that the fight for farmworker justice could not be derailed. And now, she tells us that her silence has ended (Fernandez & Hurtes, 2026). In her words, per an NBC Los Angeles report (posted below) by Jonathan Lloyd,

"The knowledge that he hurt young girls sickens me. My heart aches for everyone who suffered alone and in silence for years. There are no words strong enough to condemn those deplorable actions that he did. Cesar’s actions do not reflect the values of our community and our movement."

I sit with this with a heavy heart. Like so many, I have long held deep respect for the farmworker movement and what it made possible for our communities. That does not go away. But neither can we look away from what Huerta has entrusted us with. When she names herself as a survivor—of sexual violence, of power, of men who saw women as objects to control—she is not only telling her story. She is opening a space for others, including those who, as she notes, were harmed as young girls and carried that pain alone.  

So I find myself asking: what would it mean to honor this moment with integrity? Perhaps it means that Cesar Chavez Day goes away—or alternatively, becomes something more honest, more expansive—a day where we hold the complexity of our histories and center those who have been pushed to the margins. A day to stand with survivors of sexual abuse, with children who have been violated, with those living under the weight of gendered and state violence.

If we take Huerta seriously—and I believe we must—then this is not about tearing down a movement, but about refusing to root it in silence. It is about bringing our commemorations into right relationship with the values we name: dignity, truth, and justice. And it is about honoring her courage by listening—to the voices of other survivors who have carried these truths quietly, often alone, for far too long.

And listening must move us to act. Support organizations that provide care and advocacy for survivors. Create spaces in our communities where people can speak without fear and be met with belief, not doubt. Teach our students and our children about consent, power, and accountability. Demand that our institutions—whether movements, universities, or the state itself—take seriously their responsibility to protect the vulnerable and to confront harm, even when it is inconvenient or painful.

Let this be one of commitment to survivors, to truth, and to a future where justice is not selective, and where no one is asked to carry such burdens alone.

References

Fernandez, M. & Hurtes, S. (2026, March 18). Cesar Chavez, a civil rights icon, is accused of abusing girls for years, New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/18/us/cesar-chavez-sexual-abuse-allegations-ufw.html

Lloyd, J. (2026, March 18). Civil rights leader Dolores Huerta issues statement accusing Cesar Chavez of sexual abuse, NBC Los Angeles, https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/california-news/dolores-huerta-cesar-chavez-abuse-accusations/3863019/

Civil rights leader Dolores Huerta issues statement accusing Cesar Chavez of sexual abuse

The United Farm Workers and Cesar Chavez Foundation both issued statements Tuesday about allegations against the labor leader.

By Jonathan Lloyd | March 18, 2026 | NBC Los Angeles

Civil rights leader Dolores Huerta said farmworker union co-founder Cesar Chavez sexually abused her during their time as high-profile labor leaders, according to a statement obtained from her spokesman.

In the statement from Huerta issued by spokesman Eric Olvera, Huerta, 96, said she was "manipulated and pressured into having sex with" Chavez in the 1960s when the two were at the forefront of the labor movement.

"As a young mother in the 1960s, I experienced two separate sexual encounters with Cesar," Huerta said in the statement. "The first time I was manipulated and pressured into having sex with him, and I didn’t feel I could say no because he was someone that I admired, my boss and the leader of the movement I had already devoted years of my life to. The second time I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped."

Both sexual encounters with Chavez led to pregnancies, Huerta said.

Huerta said she is coming forward now to share her experience following a New York Times multi-year investigation into Chavez's sexual misconduct. The children were placed in the care of other families, she said.

"Over the years, I have been fortunate to develop a deep relationship with these children, who are now close to my other children, their siblings," Huerta said. "But even then, no one knew the full truth about how they were conceived until just a few weeks ago.

"I carried this secret for as long as I did because building the movement and securing farmworker rights was my life’s work. The formation of a union was the only vehicle to accomplish and secure those rights and I wasn’t going to let Cesar or anyone else get in the way. I channeled everything I had into advocating on behalf of millions of farmworkers and others who were suffering and deserved equal rights."

Chavez died in 1993 at age 66.

In the early 1960s, Chavez co-founded what would become the influential UFW with Huerta. The statement from Huerta came a day after statements from the UFW and the Cesar Chavez Foundation regarding unspecified allegations against Chavez.

The United Farm Workers said it will not be part of any Cesar Chavez Day activities after "deeply troubling allegations" against the union co-founder. UFW said in its statement that allegations against the labor activist include "very young women or girls may have been victimized."

The union said it has not received direct reports and does not have any firsthand knowledge of the allegations.

The Cesar Chavez Foundation in a statement Tuesday said Chavez is accused of engaging in inappropriate behavior with women and minors during his time as president of the United Farm Workers of America.

The statements did not provide more details about the nature of the allegations. The allegations were not independently confirmed by NBCLA.

The organizations urged people to participate in immigration justice events or acts of service instead of the typical events on the holiday honoring Chavez's civil rights and labor activism legacy.

The Cesar Chavez Day state holiday is every March 31 in California, where nearly half the nation’s fruits, nuts and vegetables are grown. In 2014, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 31 as national Cesar Chavez Day.

There are several parks, schools and streets in Southern California that bear his name. The Cesar E. Chavez National Monument is in Keene, California, located in the Tehachapi Mountains.

The civil rights, Latino and farm labor leader was born in 1927 in Arizona. His family became migrant farm workers after losing their farm in the Great Depression, picking lettuce, grapes, cotton and other seasonal crops.

Chavez served in the Navy before becoming a prominent community organizer in California.
Read full Dolores Huerta statement

I am nearly 96 years old, and for the last 60 years have kept a secret because I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for.

I have encouraged people to always use their voice. Following the New York Times’ multi-year investigation into sexual misconduct by Cesar Chavez, I can no longer stay silent and must share my own experiences.

As a young mother in the 1960s, I experienced two separate sexual encounters with Cesar. The first time I was manipulated and pressured into having sex with him, and I didn’t feel I could say no because he was someone that I admired, my boss and the leader of the movement I had already devoted years of my life to. The second time I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped.

I had experienced abuse and sexual violence before, and I convinced myself these were incidents that I had to endure alone and in secret. Both sexual encounters with Cesar led to pregnancies. I chose to keep my pregnancies secret and, after the children were born, I arranged for them to be raised by other families that could give them stable lives.

Over the years, I have been fortunate to develop a deep relationship with these children, who are now close to my other children, their siblings. But even then, no one knew the full truth about how they were conceived until just a few weeks ago.

I carried this secret for as long as I did because building the movement and securing farmworker rights was my life’s work. The formation of a union was the only vehicle to accomplish and secure those rights and I wasn’t going to let Cesar or anyone else get in the way. I channeled everything I had into advocating on behalf of millions of farmworkers and others who were suffering and deserved equal rights.

I have never identified myself as a victim, but I now understand that I am a survivor — of violence, of sexual abuse, of domineering men who saw me, and other women, as property, or things to control.

I am telling my story because the New York Times has indicated that I was not the only one — there were others. Women are coming forward, sharing that they were sexually abused and assaulted by Cesar when they were girls and teenagers.

The knowledge that he hurt young girls sickens me. My heart aches for everyone who suffered alone and in silence for years. There are no words strong enough to condemn those deplorable actions that he did. Cesar’s actions do not reflect the values of our community and our movement.

The farmworker movement has always been bigger and far more important than any one individual. Cesar’s actions do not diminish the permanent improvements achieved for farmworkers with the help of thousands of people. We must continue to engage and support our community, which needs advocacy and activism now more than ever.

I will continue my commitments to workers, as well as my commitment to women’s rights, to make sure we have a voice and that our communities are treated with dignity and given the equity that they have so long been denied.

I have kept this secret long enough. My silence ends here.
Read the full UFW statement

The UFW has learned of deeply troubling allegations that one of the union’s co-founders, Cesar Chavez, behaved in ways that are incompatible with our organization’s values. Some of the reports are family issues, and not our story to tell or our place to comment on. Far more troubling are allegations involving abuse of young women or minors. Allegations that very young women or girls may have been victimized are crushing. We have not received any direct reports, and we do not have any firsthand knowledge of these allegations. However, the allegations are serious enough that we feel compelled to take urgent steps to learn more and provide space for people who may have been victimized to find support and to share their stories if that is what they choose.

The United Farm Workers will not be taking part in any Cesar Chavez Day activities.

Instead, we call on our allies and supporters to take part in immigration justice events and acts of service to support farmworkers or empower vulnerable people in their own communities.

Over the coming weeks, in partnership with experts in these kinds of processes, we are working to establish an external, confidential, independent channel for those who may have experienced harm caused by Cesar Chavez during the early days of the UFW’s history. This channel is for those who wish to share their experiences of harm, to identify their current impacts and needs, and, if desired, to participate in a collective process to develop mechanisms for repair and accountability.

We are grateful to the support of experts who can help us seek the truth that is the first step toward healing.

These allegations have been profoundly shocking. We need some time to get this right, including to ensure robust, trauma-informed services are available to those who may need it.

We understand this will be tremendously painful for many and we encourage our community to seek mental health support if they experience distress.

Today’s UFW is a modern and progressive labor union and we will seek to learn from our history.

Farm workers are winning new union contracts, and the United Farm Workers is fighting to protect immigrant communities from the wage cuts, violence and attacks farm workers face today. The work to support the farm workers who feed our nation is more important than ever, and this work will continue.
Read the full Cesar Chavez Foundation statement

The Cesar Chavez Foundation has become aware of disturbing allegations that Cesar Chavez engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with women and minors during his time as President of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW).

We are deeply shocked and saddened by what we are hearing.

“The Foundation is working with leaders in the Farmworker Movement to be responsive to these allegations, support the people who may have been harmed by his actions, and ensure we are united and guided by our commitment to justice and community empowerment.

In partnership with the UFW, we are establishing a safe and confidential process for those who wish to share their experiences of historic harm, and, if they choose to, participate in efforts toward repair and reconciliation.

In addition, we are investing time and resources to ensure the Foundation promotes and strengthens a workplace culture that is safe and welcoming for all.

We ask for our community’s patience as we learn more. Throughout this process, our organization and our partners in the movement will continue our work together to protect and uplift the families and communities that we serve.

Today, the Cesar Chavez Foundation impacts the lives of millions of Latinos and working families across the Southwest by inspiring and transforming communities through social enterprises that address essential human, cultural, and community needs.”

Staggering Number of Hysterectomies Happening at ICE Facility, Whistleblower Says

What the heck?! This whole sordid, Nazi-like, human-experimentation story from a whistle blower who alleges as much merits a close read. This whole story reeks of violence, brutality, neglect, and abuse. If any piece of this is true, those in power should be held to account.

God forbid that any woman experience forced sterilization as a matter of de facto, unchecked government policy and practice.

Do consider signing this petition to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on change.org titled, "END FORCED HYSTERECTOMIES AND ABOLISH ICE." Here is the specific language of the petition: 

This is horrific, my friends.  Let's tell Gov. Kemp to investigate this complaint and do something immediately about any and pieces of this story that are true.

-Angela Valenzuela

Staggering Number of Hysterectomies Happening at ICE Facility, Whistleblower Says

"We’ve questioned among ourselves, like, goodness, he's taking everybody’s stuff out," said a former nurse at the facility. "That's his specialty, he’s the uterus collector."

CS

By Carter Sherman

September 14, 2020, 5:39pm

Worker Charged WithSexually Molesting Eight Children at Immigrant Shelter

by Topher Sanders, Michael Grabell

© REUTERS/Leah Millis Sports facilities are seen at an immigration detention facility for children run by Southwest Key Programs and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., June 28, 2018.

This story includes graphic details of alleged sexual violence against minors.

A youth care worker for Southwest Key has been charged with 11 sex offenses after authorities accused him of molesting at least eight unaccompanied immigrant boys over nearly a year at one of the company’s shelters in Mesa, Arizona, federal court records show.

The allegations against Levian D. Pacheco, who is HIV-positive, include that he performed oral sex on two of the teenagers and tried to force one of them to penetrate him anally. The other six teens — all between 15 and 17 — said Pacheco had groped them through their clothing. All of the incidents are alleged to have taken place between August 2016 and July 2017, according to a court filing last week that laid out the government’s case.

The case, initially investigated by local police, is now proceeding through U.S. District Court in Phoenix. Pacheco had worked at Southwest Key’s Casa Kokopelli shelter, one of eight the company runs in Arizona, since May 2016.

Casa Kokopelli was cited by the Arizona Department of Health Services in 2017 for failing to complete background checks, including fingerprinting, to ensure that employees hadn’t previously committed sex offenses and other crimes, records show. Pacheco worked for nearly four months without a complete background check, according to documents and an agency official. Those records did not show any previous arrests or convictions for sex offenses, they said.

Pacheco, 25, was indicted in August 2017 after an investigation by local law enforcement and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services inspector general’s office. The current charges include eight counts of abusive sexual contact with a ward and three counts of sexual acts with a ward. Pacheco, who is in U.S. Marshals’ custody, could not be reached for comment, but he denied the charges in court documents. His federal public defender, Benjamin Good, said, “We are looking forward to defending Mr. Pacheco in court.”

Trump administration officials have repeatedly asserted that the shelters are safe, even fun, places for kids. But there has been increasingly intense scrutiny of the federally funded, privately run shelters after the administration separated some 3,000 children from their parents at the border and sent them to shelters and foster homes across the country. Last week, ProPublica reported that police nationwide have responded to hundreds of calls reporting possible sex crimes at shelters that serve immigrant children. One of those calls resulted in the conviction of a Tucson shelter worker for molestation.

Now further documents have emerged describing alleged incidents in Arizona involving Southwest Key, the largest operator of immigrant youth shelters nationwide.

ProPublica only discovered Pacheco’s case while trying to find additional information about a vague reference to a molestation case in Arizona inspection records. Federal officials had known about the case when answering questions from ProPublica last week and when describing the conditions of the shelters before Congress, but did not mention it.

In addition to Pacheco, two other cases involving abuse at other Southwest Key shelters have recently surfaced.

On Tuesday, an employee at a Southwest Key facility in Phoenix, Fernando Magaz Negrete, was arrested on allegations that he sexually abused a 14-year-old girl by kissing her and rubbing her breast and crotch, according to Phoenix news outlets. And The Nation reported Friday that a 6-year-old girl who had been separated from her mother was allegedly fondled by a boy at another Southwest Key facility in Glendale, Arizona in June.

At other Southwest Key facilities, police reports and call logs from the last five years detail inappropriate relationships with staff, dozens of runaways, sexual contact among kids at the shelters and other allegations of molestation by employees. In one case, ProPublica found, a 46-year-old youth care worker in Tucson was convicted of groping a 15-year-old boy who had just arrived in the United States five days earlier.

In an email, HHS spokesman Kenneth Wolfe said the agency has issued a stop placement order and removed all unaccompanied minors from the Casa Kokopelli shelter. He declined to say when the stop placement order was issued.

“These are vulnerable children in difficult circumstances, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement at HHS’ Administration for Children and Families treats our responsibility for each child with the utmost care,” he said. “Any allegation of abuse or neglect is taken seriously.”

In response to questions from ProPublica, Jeff Eller, a spokesman for Southwest Key, wrote in an email that he was unable to comment on specific cases. When asked how Pacheco’s alleged actions could have escaped detection for 11 months, Eller didn’t answer the question, but said: “Any employee accused of abuse is immediately suspended and law enforcement called. This is what we did in this case.” Eller said the allegations were also reported to the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, which oversees the shelter system, and the appropriate state agency.

In response to a question about how the company could assure the public that children are safe in its facilities, Eller wrote: “We find the premise of your question dishonorable.” 

“We report these cases to law enforcement and state agencies when they happen,” he said. “We educate every child in our care upon arrival to the facility of their right to be free from abuse or neglect in this program and this country. This message is repeated to the children throughout the duration of their stay at our shelters.”

In the past five years, the Texas-based nonprofit has received more than $1.3 billion in federal funds for the shelters and other services—including more than $500 million so far this year.

This week, following numerous reports of problems at the federally funded facilities, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, requested that the inspector general for the U.S. Health and Human Services department investigate the allegations of sexual and physical abuse at the shelters.

“These allegations demonstrate a long-term pattern of abuse warranting a thorough investigation into the claims, including the process and procedure by which any guards or contracted staff are hired, trained, and vetted,” the senators wrote in a letter to the inspector general.

HHS said Thursday that shelter operators reported 264 allegations of sexual abuse to the FBI last year. While those can include anything from “touching of the buttocks” to sexual assault, the agency said, 53 allegations involved an adult. The agency did not say how many of those allegations were founded or how many constituted more serious assaults.

Federal court records show that officials at the Southwest Key shelter in Mesa were unaware that Pacheco was abusing boys for months — and that it wasn’t until one of the boys spoke up last summer that the extent of the abuse allegations against Pacheco was uncovered.

Shelter officials first learned that Pacheco may have abused a boy at the facility when a teen identified in court records as “John Doe 1” told a teacher that a staff member had entered his room in the early morning hours of July 24, 2017 and touched his body, including his penis, over his clothing. The teen then told his roommate about the incident and that boy, known as “John Doe 2,” said the same staffer had fondled him in a similar way.

The second teen initially denied the incident when he was approached by staff members. Several hours later he told staffers that Pacheco had come into his room early one morning, tickled him and touched his “private parts.”

Pacheco was then removed from the facility and local law enforcement launched an investigation, records show.

The next day, July 25, a third teen told a shelter counselor that he had heard about Pacheco’s dismissal for inappropriately touching other boys. The teen told the counselor that Pacheco had also fondled him and that he was aware of three other boys Pacheco had molested. That child would later tell a “forensic interviewer” that Pacheco had groped him twice.

Local law enforcement and shelter staff tracked down those three teens and two others, who all said that Pacheco had molested them.

The fourth teen in the court records reported that Pacheco had touched him over his pajama pants sometime in June or July of 2017.

A fifth boy, who had been moved from Casa Kokopelli to another facility in Arizona, said he was brushing his teeth, and when he opened the bathroom door, Pacheco was standing there holding toilet paper. The boy said Pacheco then touched his penis over his clothing, the records show.

A sixth teen reported that Pacheco opened the shower door while he was bathing and stared at him but did not touch him. The boy later told social workers that on another occasion, he was changing his clothes after a soccer game when Pacheco walked into his room and said “My love, I have arrived,” according to court records. Pacheco proceeded to grab the boy’s penis, the teen said. Pacheco then laughed and told the child he “had it big,” the records show.

The seventh teen, “John Doe 7,” is the same victim whose allegations were briefly referenced in ProPublica’s story last week. The boy had been at the Mesa facility and was transferred to Tucson, where he revealed the molestation allegations to officials. The teen said he had been recovering from surgery in early June of 2017 and was groggy from pain medication when he awoke to find Pacheco in this room. Pacheco told the boy that he had a “big one.” The teen said he could tell that Pacheco had “ejaculated on himself,” according to court records.

On another occasion, the teen told officials, he was playing video games when Pacheco entered the room and told the boy to take out his penis. The boy refused and Pacheco grabbed the teen’s penis through his pants, according to court records. During a third incident, the teen said Pacheco pushed him down on a bed, pulled down his pants and underwear and began to shake his penis. The boy said he attempted to push Pacheco away, but was unable to because of his injury and surgery. Pacheco put the boy’s penis in his mouth, the court records state.

The eighth boy alleged that Pacheco came into his room and woke him by making noise with the blinds. Pacheco then told the boy he was going to “suck his,” according to court records. The boy said Pacheco took down his pants and put his mouth on the teen’s penis three times. The boy describes a separate incident in which Pacheco entered his room around midnight, took off his own pants and underwear and told the boy he wanted the teen to put his penis in Pacheco’s “butt,” records state.

Pacheco then attempted to force the boy’s penis into his anus, but the boy pushed him away and threatened to report him, according to the records.

Pacheco disclosed he was HIV positive when he was arrested, according to court records. Officials with the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS educated the teenage boys about HIV and how it is transmitted and a “couple” of the eight children sought testing, records state. It’s unclear what the results were.

Five of the eight teenagers that Pacheco is accused of molesting either denied or didn’t disclose the allegation when first approached by interviewers and staff members.

Nayeli Chavez-Dueñas, a clinical psychologist who helped develop shelter guidelines on behalf of the National Latina/o Psychological Association, said she wasn’t surprised that alleged abuse went on for so long “because a lot of the children are terrified.” Many of the children have experienced sexual and physical violence, she said, and in the shelters, they face a lot of uncertainty.

“So when you have adults that are taking care of these children that are so vulnerable,” Chavez-Dueñas said, “they know that the children are going to be so afraid for their safety that they are not likely to report.”

Pacheco’s trial is scheduled to begin on August 28.

A 6-Year-Old Girl Was Sexually Abused in an Immigrant-Detention Center

The sexual abuse that happened to this little 6-year-old Guatemalan girl at this Southwest Key detention center in Arizona is horrific and criminal! Such suffering!


Then to compound this harm, Southwest Key personnel, in response, asked the child is asked to sign a document (see below) where she understands and agrees that it is her responsibility to avoid any further sexual abuse by staying away from her aggressor.  For this to be their response is itself a violation.

This whole facility should get shut down for such practices.  What else is happening there that we should know about, especially considering the larger story researched by Propublica that I posted yesterday titled, “If You’re a Predator, It’s a Gold Mine"?

The public needs to know the full extent of abuse that is happening right now against defenseless children and adults.  We must demand complete transparency and accountability.  

And these kinds of so-called bureaucratic process for dealing with such matters need to be terminated, period.

We must call our public officials and demand that they get answers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as well as from the Department of Homeland Security on such matters, including a lack of due process for children and families like these.  

The rule of law should mean something to us in this country.

-Angela Valenzuela

A 6-Year-Old Girl Was Sexually Abused in an Immigrant-Detention Center

Separated from her mother by Trump’s zero-tolerance policy, the child was forced to sign a statement confirming that she understood it was her responsibility to stay away from her abuser.

By Ari Honarvar

JULY 27, 2018

According to immigrant-rights advocates, a 6-year-old girl separated from her mother under the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policy was sexually abused while at an Arizona detention facility run by Southwest Key Programs. The child was then made to sign a form acknowledging that she was told to maintain her distance from her alleged abuser, who is an older child being held at the same detention facility.

The girl, who is only identified by the initials D.L., and her mother had been fleeing gang violence in their native Guatemala. According to the family, the pair entered the United States at a point of entry in El Paso, Texas, on May 24, where they presented Border Patrol authorities with paperwork claiming that they had “credible fear” that returning to Guatemala would result in harm. On May 26, government officials separated D.L. from her mother and sent her to Casa Glendale, a shelter outside of Phoenix operated by Southwest Key Programs. It was there that the alleged abuse occurred.

Before D.L. was taken away, her mother provided authorities with the phone number of D.L.’s father, an undocumented immigrant living in California. On June 11, D.L.’s father received a phone call from Southwest Key explaining that a boy had fondled his daughter and other girls. According to family spokesperson Mark Lane, D.L.’s father was told not to worry, because Southwest Key was changing some of its protocols and such abuse would not happen again. (Lane was connected with D.L.’s family through Families Belong Together, a coalition of civil-rights  groups formed in response to the recent border crackdown.) Lane says that D.L.’s father asked to speak with a social worker, but, despite promises from the facility, he never heard from one.

A Southwest Key Programs document obtained by The Nation confirms that D.L. was reported to have been sexually abused on June 4, 2018. On June 12, one day after D.L.’s father was contacted, the 6-year-old girl was presented with the form stating that, as part of the facility’s intervention protocol, she had been instructed to “maintain my distance from the other youth involved” and had been provided “psychoeducation,” described in the document as “reporting abuse” and “good touch bad touch.” The form, posted below, shows D.L’s “signature”—a single letter “D,” next to the characterization of her as “tender age”—which supposedly confirms that D.L understands “that it is my responsibility to follow the safety plan” reviewed with her.

When D.L.’s mother learned about the incident, she was still being detained in Texas and felt devastated. “I felt really horrible. I couldn’t do anything for her, because we were separated,” she said through a translator in an interview with The Nation. “It was a nightmare. When my husband told me what happened, I felt helpless. She was so little, she was probably so scared, probably afraid to say anything to anyone. It was a total nightmare for me.”

But the nightmare wasn’t over. On June 22, Southwest Key again contacted D.L.’s father and informed him that the same boy initially cited for abuse had hit and fondled D.L. again. According to Lane, D.L.’s father asked how the facility could allow this to happen, and the woman on the phone responded that she was only calling him to advise him that it had happened, that she didn’t have permission to say anything else, and he would have to speak with the director.

Southwest Key, a nonprofit based in Austin, Texas, is contracted by the federal government to house immigrant minors in 26 facilities across the United States, according to a report in Texas Monthly. The company’s shelters have come under increased scrutiny since the Trump administration began forcibly separating children from immigrant parents seeking asylum. In Texas, where the nonprofit operates a number of children’s shelters, facilities have been cited for hundreds of violations over the past three years. Southwest Key is expected to be paid $458 million by the federal government this year.

When The Nation contacted Southwest Key, a woman who answered the phone said she was not allowed to talk to the media. Additional requests for comment have not been answered. The Department of Health and Human Services, which contracts with Southwest Key, also did not have a comment at press time.

Earlier this year, the ACLU released a report, based on 30,000 pages of documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, that described hundreds of cases of abuse of immigrant children in US custody between 2009 and 2014. Customs and Border Protection issued a statement calling the report “unfounded and baseless.”

Through the work of Families Belong Together and a legal team assembled for this case, D.L., her mother, and her father have now all been reunited.

According to D.L.’s mother, when the family came together again, the young girl was confused. “I hugged her, I was crying. She didn’t recognize me,” the mother said. “She told me that she thought I was never going to be with her again and that she was going to have to live with another lady. She behaved like she was still in detention. She wouldn’t touch me, hug me, or kiss me.”

“It lasted for a couple of days,” said D.L’s mother. “She didn’t know I was her mom. She thought I was another social worker.”

D.L.’s mother reports that her girl is getting better everyday, but the trauma of the ordeal lingers. “She is still behaving following the rules of the detention center,” said the mother. “She doesn’t let them touch her, she doesn’t touch them. She wakes up at 6, and bathes and eats. She behaves like she is programmed.”

“She says, ‘Please don’t return me to Guatemala, I don’t want to go back to that place where I have to sleep alone with the other kids,’” added the mother.

D.L.’s father was anxious as well, since he hadn’t seen his daughter in a long time. “She recognized me quicker because of all of the photos that she had seen and because I spoke with her many times while she was in the shelter,” recounted the father.

“My morale was so low,” the father says of the time they were all separated. But now, “When I had my wife and daughter with me, I felt so good. I knew that now that I had them at my side, they would be protected, I would be able to protect them again. I don’t know what to hope for. I don’t know what will happen. But I think that whatever happens will be good, because we are all three together again.”

Ari HonarvarAri Honarvar is the founder of Rumi With A View, dedicated to building music and poetry bridges across war-torn borders.