The Biden administration is overseeing an “alarming” rise in exploitative child labor nationwide — a trend spurred by the ongoing migrant crisis at the southern border, according to Sen. Bill Cassidy.
In a pair of letters to officials at the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services (HHS), Cassidy (R-La.) pointed to reports of an 88% uptick in illegal child labor since 2019, including in “dangerous jobs” such as meat processing.
Federal watchdogs have also disclosed that the Biden administration “weakened” officials’ “ability to vet sponsors” who receive migrant children in the US and “protect” those children “from risks such as trafficking,” he noted.
Now the lawmaker is demanding answers from the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division and HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement about how the agencies plan to protect unaccompanied children from exploitation.
