(HorizonPost.com) – The Biden administration ignored warnings that migrant children were used as slave labor, according to the New York Times. Staff and contractors with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) warned the White House that American companies were exploiting children, but this was not acted upon.
“At least five Health and Human Services staff members filed complaints and said they were pushed out after raising concerns about child safety,” the paper reported. One former HHS staff member said, “I feel like short of protesting in the streets, I did everything I could to warn them. They just didn’t want to hear it.”
The NYT covered the topic in February. In that report, more than 100 migrant children reported working in dangerous conditions in factories across the United States. They worked long hours, including night shifts, and operated heavy machinery. The companies utilizing child labor, named by the New York Times, include Cheerios, Fruit of the Loom, Whole Foods, Target, Walmart, J.Crew, Frito-Lay, and Ben & Jerry’s.
Members of Congress grilled Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the issue on April 18th. Senator Josh Hawley asked Mr. Mayorkas if he was proud of his record and recounted stories from young children working in appalling conditions in America. He said the number of children in such a situation had exploded under Mayorkas’ watch. He added that the Biden administration had changed federal policy to allow unaccompanied children to come to the US, which created and encouraged a criminal network of smugglers. As a result, children work dangerous jobs and must pay part of their wages to the smugglers, while sending the rest of it back to their families.
A furious Hawley told Mayorkas he ought to be impeached for directly facilitating indentured servitude in 21st-century America. The Homeland Security Secretary blamed most of the crisis on the Trump administration. Hawley responded stating that it is “par for the course” for Mr. Mayorkas to blame the previous administration and he was “sick and tired” of his excuses.
Copyright 2023, HorizonPost.com
