Biden Admin Opens Probe Into Illegal Immigrant Children Working In American Cereal Factories
Jennie Taer on February 27, 2023
The Biden administration’s Department of Labor (DOL) has opened an investigation into American cereal and snack factories employing illegal migrant children, Reuters and The New York Times reported Monday.
Hearthside Food Solutions, which is one of America’s largest food contractors, has employed illegal migrant children who work under harsh conditions to produce popular snacks, such as Lucky Charms and Cheetos, according to the New York Times. The investigation will look into whether the company violated child labor laws, according to Reuters, which cited two sources with knowledge.
“We will work collaboratively with the Department of Labor in their investigation and do our part to continue to abide by all local, state and federal employment laws,” a Hearthside Company spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation Monday.
The company said on Feb. 25 that it was “appalled” by the NYT’s report.
“We are deeply concerned about the mischaracterizations of Hearthside. Hearthside’s longstanding requirement is that everyone working in our production facilities must be at least 18 years old. We go to great lengths to vet our workforce and ensure they comply with local, state, and federal laws, and the agencies we partner with do as well,” the company said at the time, where it committed to an independently-conducted investigation and check of its employees.
The factories put its workers through intense and distressing labor, according to the NYT.
“Sometimes I get tired and feel sick,” Carolina Yoc said, who came from Guatemala after illegally crossing the southern border into the U.S. alone, in November, while complaining that her stomach often hurt as she suffered from lack of sleep, stress from the loud machines said, according to the NYT. “But I’m getting used to it.”
Under the Biden administration, there’s been a surge in illegal migrant children crossing the southern border alone. The number of encounters by federal authorities jumped from more than 33,000 in fiscal year 2020 to more than 152,000 in fiscal year 2022, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
There were also more than 46,000 encounters at the southern border of unaccompanied minors recorded between October 2022 and January 2023 alone, according to CBP.
The DOL didn’t respond to a request for comment.
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