As debate continues over the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy, questions are being asked about a non-profit group that has collected huge amounts of government money to house and care for thousands of immigrant children being held in the system.

Texas-based Southwest Key Programs has taken in roughly $1 billion in federal contracts since the Obama administration, and is expected to receive about $500 million this year to house and provide services for immigrant children, according to reports.

And Southwest officials receive significant compensation for their efforts. WQAD reported tax filings show Juan Sanchez, the group’s founder and CEO, received nearly $1.5 million in 2016 - nearly twice the previous year’s salary, of $786,822. His wife, Jennifer, vice president of Southwest Key, received about $280,000 in 2015 in total compensation, WQAD reported.

Sanchez, who according to his biography information grew up in a poor neighborhood in South Texas and went on to receive a doctorate in education from Harvard University, is a well-connected figure in the Latino community. Hispanic Business Magazine ranked Southwest Key number four in its list of the top 25 Latino non-profits in the country several years ago. And the League of United Latin American Citizens honored Sanchez with its “Rise to the Challenge” award.

From 2007 to 2013, Sanchez also served on the board of the former National Council of La Raza (NCLR), which was one of the nation’s largest and oldest Latino advocacy groups.

La Raza was at the forefront of fighting for many issues of importance to Hispanics. But it was also long criticized by those who charge that it is racist, and sympathetic to separatist ideology. The group rebranded, and changed its name in 2017 to UnidosUS.

Another board member, Anselmo Villarreal, was on the NCLR board from 2006 to 2012. Villarreal is president and chief executive of Wisconsin-based La Casa de Esperanza, which provides services to immigrants at locations nationwide.

Villarreal has taken high-profile positions against Trump immigration policies, and last month participated in a march against a Wisconsin county’s plans to work with federal immigration officials.

Young immigrants are lifted over a puddle as they arrive with their parents at the Catholic Charities RGV after they were processed and released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Tuesday, June 19, 2018, in McAllen, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)