New taskforce will crack down on rising migrant child labour in U.S., White House says – National
The Biden administration on Monday announced the creation of a new task force to crack down on the burgeoning illegal exploitation of children of migrant workers in the United States.
Hundreds of companies that employed nearly 4,000 children last year were found to be in violation of federal labor laws. This has increased dramatically over the last five years.
Growing problems have forced Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to put immigrant children in vulnerable situations when they are released from shelters and released from federal custody too quickly, making them more likely to become victims. There is growing concern that it has been placed on the hot seat. of child labor.
read more:
US Sanitation Company Accused of Hiring Children to Clean Slaughterhouses
In a new video first reported by The New York Times, a secretary urged staff to get children out of the federal government’s broken shelter system sooner.
“If Henry Ford had seen this in his plants, he would never have been famous or rich,” Becerra told staff at a conference last summer in a recording. “This is not how the assembly line works.”
A Times investigation identified more than 100 immigrant children, some as young as 12, who say they work night shifts and dangerous jobs for businesses large and small across the United States.
White House Press Secretary Carine Jean-Pierre said Monday that President Joe Biden still has “complete confidence” in Becerra when asked about the secretary’s job in light of the new report.
“Of course the president doesn’t think immigrants should be treated like an assembly line, nor does Secretary Becerra,” she said.
Becerra has long been considered an advocate for immigration. He often talks about his parents’ experience of immigrating to the United States from Mexico.
The administration has struggled with how to handle a surge in immigration at the U.S. border, including children traveling alone, since Biden first took office. was stopped 2.38 million times, up 37% from the previous year’s 1.73 million. This total was more than double his high in 2019 during the Donald Trump presidency.
HHS and the Department of Labor rolled out a new policy and task force on Monday, promising stronger follow-up for children moved from shelters to live with US sponsors.Also reported safety concerns Staff are also expected to follow up with children who have called the Refugee Resettlement Office National Call Center to seek assistance.
The Labor Department also threatened to stop shipments of products made with child labor.
