Immigration Is A Strength: Illegal Child Labor

The Daily Mail reports that, after a serious injury to one of the young teens, federal inspectors discovered that slaughter houses operated by Seaboard Triumph Foods LLC in Sioux City, Iowa, and Perdue Farms in Accomac, Virginia, had been illegally using young teens to clean dangerous equipment. The children were apparently employed by Fayette Janitorial Service, a subcontractor that has contracts to clean meat and poultry plants across 30 states--in other words, not a small operation. From the article:

    Child labor violations soared in the US in the 2022-2023 fiscal year to their highest level in nearly two decades, with 5,792 minors found to be working illegally — an 88 percent increase since 2019.

    Unscrupulous bosses frequently hire migrant kids with poor English who need a paycheck and don't ask questions about safety.

    Jessica Looman, an administrator from the department, said the violations in Iowa and Virginia had 'real consequences on children's lives.'

    'Our actions to stop these violations will help ensure that more children are not hurt in the future.'

    In a statement to DailyMail.com, officials said the children worked in 'overnight sanitation shifts,' which is prohibited because it interferes with schooling.

 

    'Minors were used to clean dangerous kill floor equipment such as head splitters, jaw pullers, meat bandsaws, and neck clippers,' said the statement. 

 

    Children under the age of 18 are not allowed to work in slaughterhouses under the Fair Labor Standards Act.