This blog has emphasized the U.S. need for more immigrant labor, especially in those states with aging, declining population.[1]
The U.S. also needs to ameliorate the harsh, brutal working conditions facing many of these immigrants, especially children, as detailed in a New York Times investigation of such conditions in 20 states.[2]
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[1] Posts and Comments to dwkcommentaries.com: Iowa State Government Encouraging Refugee and Migrant Resettlement (Feb. 3, 2023); Comment: National Worker Shortages in U.S. (Feb. 3, 2023); Comment: Economists Surprised by January New Jobs Data (Feb. 4, 2023); Comment: Migrant Workers Being Paid Premium Wages in Tight U.S. Job Market (Feb. 8, 2023); More Details on U.S. and Other Countries’ Worker Shortages (Feb. 9, 2023); Other States Join Iowa in Encouraging Immigration to Combat Aging, Declining Population (Feb.22, 2023); COMMENT: More Support for Immigrants’ Importance for U.S. Economy (Feb. 23, 2023); U.S. High-Tech Layoffs Threaten Immigrants with Temporary Visas (Feb. 25, 2023).
[2] Drier, Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S., N.Y. Times (Feb. 25, 2023); Vondracek, Labor Department: Over 100 children hired to clean meatpacking plants, including in Minnesota, StarTribune (Feb. 17, 2023).
COMMENT: Biden Administration Plans Investigations of Child Labor in U.S.
On February 27, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that since “2018, the U.S. Department of Labor has seen a 69 percent increase in children being employed illegally by companies. In the last fiscal year, the department found 835 companies it investigated had employed more than 3,800 children in violation of labor laws. The maximum civil monetary penalty under current law for a child labor violation is $15,138 per child. That’s not high enough to be a deterrent for major profitable companies. . . . On Feb. 17, 2023, the Department of Labor announced the resolution of one of the largest child labor cases in its history against Packers Sanitation Services Inc. LTD. The department currently has over 600 child labor investigations underway and continues to field complaints and initiate investigations to protect children.”
The Department, therefore, announced “the following actions to increase their efforts to thoroughly vet sponsors of migrant children, investigate child labor violations and hold the companies accountable:”
• “A Department of Labor-led Interagency Taskforce to Combat Child Labor Exploitation;
• A National Strategic Enforcement Initiative on Child Labor;
• Hold All Employers Accountable;
• Mandated Follow Up Calls for Unaccompanied Children Who Report Safety Concerns;
• Expand Post Release Services for Unaccompanied Children;
• Increased Funding for the Department of Labor’s Enforcement Agencies
• Call on Congress to Increase Civil Monetary Penalties for Companies that Use Child Labor;
• Audit ORR Sponsor Vetting Process; and
• New Training Material for Unaccompanied Children to Know Their Rights.”
“This crackdown on the [U.S.] labor exploitation of migrant children . . . [would include] not just the factories and suppliers that use child labor, but the companies that rely on them to make their products or provide their workers.”
This government announcement came only two weeks after the New York Times’ article about the results of a non-governmental investigation of exploitation of migrant children working in the U.S. that was discussed in the above post.
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U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services Announce New Efforts to Combat Exploitative Child Labor (Feb. 27, 2023), https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osec/osec20230227;
Dreier, Biden Administration Plans Crackdown on Migrant Child Labor, N.Y. Times (Feb. 27, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/27/us/biden-child-labor.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-us-immigration&variant=show®ion=MAIN_CONTENT_1&block=storyline_top_links_recirc