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Ongoing research on the labor exploitation suffered by several Guatemalan children in the United States has been extended to include meat and agricultural products companieswhich are alleged to have hired immigrant minors in at least 11 states, NBC News reported.
Both the researchers of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Homeland Security Investigationsjust like him Department of Justice (DOJ) and white house officials are participating in this extended research.
Senior officials told the aforementioned medium that meat and agricultural product companies are being targeted for possible violations of child labor laws operating across the country, from Virginia to Colorado.
The sources did not indicate the names of the companies. that are under investigation, however, it is known that those who break the law will face a very serious fine, as well as criminal charges.
Wendy Young, President of Kids in Need of Defensea legal organization that helps immigrant children, told the aforementioned outlet that this is a big step.
“Now we need to make sure that the federal government really invests resources to continue and sustain this effort. But I’m encouraged by the fact that we’re seeing multiple agencies working together and really taking this issue seriously,” Young said.
This action comes as a response to the high rates of violations of child labor laws which according to the Department of Labor (DOL) have increased considerably since 2018.
NBC News reported earlier this year that officials familiar with the matter confided to them that the DHS and DOJ were discussing whether a human trafficking ring was behind the hundreds of irregular jobs. of Guatemalan children.
In March of this year, the Department of Labor confirmed that 3,800 immigrant children were exploited at work in any state of the vis during the last fiscal year.
The New York Times reported at the time that children between the ages of 12 and 15 work 12 hour days packing cereal, sweets and even carving wood, lor that seriously endangers the physical integrity of minors because at some point they may lose some part of their body and sometimes their scalp.
The same outlet pointed out that a 15-year-old girl from Guatemala named Carolina Yoc who came alone to The United States with the sole purpose of generating money to help her family and every day she works in a factory in Grand Rapis, Michigan, packing bags of cereal and like her there are hundreds of children working clandestinely.
It may interest you:
• More than 3,000 immigrant children were exploited at work in 2022 in the United States
• US Government analyzes and investigates increased labor exploitation of migrant children
• Immigrant children suffer the ravages of labor exploitation in various states of the United States