In unprecedented numbers, they are finding themselves working in hazardous positions that are against the law for children, including in factories that produce goods for well-known companies like Fruit of the Loom and Cheetos.
These workers are a part of the new exploitation economy: A New York Times investigation discovered that migrant children, who are entering the country in record numbers without their parents, are landing in some of the most punishing jobs available. Every state has a shadow workforce that works across industries and infractions of child labor laws that date back over a century. Roofers in Florida and Tennessee who are 12 years old. Underage slaughterhouse employees in North Carolina, Mississippi, and Delaware. Youngsters in South Dakota working nighttime shifts cutting slabs of wood.
The children, who are primarily from Central America, are motivated by economic desperation that was made worse by the outbreak. This work force has been steadily expanding for about a decade, but it has taken off since 2021, at the same time that the procedures designed to safeguard minors have collapsed.
More than 100 migrant child workers in 20 states were interviewed by The Times. They spoke about their exhausting tasks and worries that they were stuck in situations they could never have imagined. The Times investigation also consulted court and inspection documents, as well as hundreds of interviews with attorneys, social workers, teachers, and law enforcement officers.
