Advocates call on Gov. Josh Shapiro to close a Berks County youth center that holds immigrant children

Youth- and immigrant-rights allies called on Gov. Josh Shapiro Wednesday to immediately remove children from a Berks County center that they said harms those held there, including migrant kids who arrived at the U.S. border unaccompanied by parents.

Speakers at an afternoon news conference held near the Abraxas Academy in Morgantown, Pa., asked the governor to issue an emergency removal order ― typically enforced to protect children in imminent danger of physical or emotional abuse.

“Pennsylvania cannot continue to expose these kids to Abraxas’s abuse,” said Evan Feldberg-Bannatyne, an organizer with the youth-advocacy group Care, Not Control. “We need an ERO now.”

The Shapiro administration said Wednesday that the Department of Human Services will continue to closely monitor the situation to determine next steps and ensure the safety of those living there.

If DHS were to issue an ERO, it would not take custody of the young people or direct their placement. Instead, Abraxas would need to notify the federal government for immigrant youths, or the state court for Pennsylvania residents, to find other placements. DHS would monitor the wind-down of operations, which can take time, the administration said.

“The department’s top priority is ensuring the safety of youth in the facilities we license, and it is concerning whenever we receive a report or allegation that a young person was put at risk,” said DHS spokesperson Brandon Cwalina. “When that happens, the Shapiro administration works urgently to ensure that any allegations and potential violations are investigated and handled.”

Pittsburgh-based Abraxas Youth and Family Services said in a statement Friday that it was “aware of the concerns raised regarding Abraxas Academy in Morgantown,” and that “the safety and well-being of those in our care is our highest priority, and we take any allegation or concern seriously.”

“Programs like Abraxas Academy operate within a regulated system with established standards for care and accountability that are in alignment with our state and federal partners and their regulations,” the statement said. “We are committed to meeting those expectations and upholding the responsibilities entrusted to us by families and government.”

The agency website describes the Abraxas Academy as providing secure residential treatment and detention for male young people, ages 14 to 19, who face serious charges or have demonstrated delinquent patterns through multiple placements.

Since October, the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is responsible for “unaccompanied minors,” the migrant children who arrive at the border without parents, has held some teenage boys at the center, which has a documented history of staff physically and sexually abusing juvenile offenders, a Washington Post investigation found.

ORR awarded $9 million to Abraxas Alliance in August to hold up to 30 young immigrants who had been deemed a danger to themselves or others. At times, The Post reported, between five and eight teenage boys have been held inside a dedicated wing of the center, sleeping inside locked rooms the size of walk-in closets.

State inspectors documented at least 15 incidents since 2013 in which they said staff physically mistreated minors at the facility, which mainly holds juveniles facing or convicted of criminal offenses, The Post reported. In at least two incidents, officials documented allegations of staff sexually harassing or sexually abusing young residents, the newspaper reported.

After some incidents, Abraxas suspended or fired staff members and submitted correction plans to state regulators, The Post said.

DHS’s Cwalina noted that in November, the department revoked the license for Abraxas Academy’s Secure Detention Unit. Immigrant youths are not held there. Abraxas appealed and continues to operate the unit while the appeal goes forward.

Abraxas has two other licenses that remain in place, subject to periodic, unannounced inspections. The DHS Office of Children, Youth, and Families is on site weekly — including today — to monitor the center’s operations, he said.

“We do not want detention centers in our state,” said Jasmine Rivera, executive director of the Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition. “We fight for the closure of immigrant detention. Our communities do not need more cages.”

Detention is particularly disturbing, she said, when it extends to children who have come to this country seeking shelter and safety.

By law, ORR must provide care for unaccompanied children, defined as those who have no legal immigration status, have not yet turned 18, and have no parent or guardian in the United States. ORR says it tries to find sponsors, most often a close relative in this country, and in the meantime provides care at one of nearly 200 facilities.

However, a 2025 rule change now allows ORR to consider a potential sponsor’s immigration status, and to share that information with enforcement agencies. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco says that discourages undocumented family members from becoming sponsors, leaving children in government custody longer and hurting their well-being.

“It is immoral and unimaginable that in our backyard, children are being held in such violence and unsafe conditions,” said Gaby Lopez, lead organizer in Reading for Make The Road, which works to help immigrants. “Children need to be with their loved ones.”

The United States needs an immigration system that welcomes those who come here to share their talents and be part of the American story, she said, not one that replicates the violence they experienced in their homelands.

“Gov. Shapiro,” she said, “Issue an emergency removal order now, and protect families across Pennsylvania now.”