The “unacceptable” exploitation of immigrant child labor

“The Biden administration on Monday announced a sweeping plan against the exploitation of immigrant child labor across the United States, including more rigorous investigations targeting companies that profit from their labor,” reports this February 28 The New York Times.

The announcement follows the newspaper’s revelations, “heartbreaking” et “completely unacceptable” according to White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.

“Lonely and exploited, immigrant children work very hard jobs all over the United States”, titled The New York Times February 26. In a vast investigation, carried out in twenty States, the daily brings to light a “shadow labor […] in every industry, in every state, in violation of nearly a century-old child labor laws”.

Dangerous jobs

Young migrants thus occupy dangerous jobs – in slaughterhouses, on construction sites – prohibited to minors. The newspaper counted “a dozen immigrant children killed at work since 2017”. 13-year-old girls wash sheets in hotels, while employing under-14s is prohibited