“The Biden administration must make right the protection system that failed unaccompanied children, and all children exploited for labor,” said Mario Bruzzone, senior policy adviser at the Women’s Refugee Commission. “We need accountability from the brands that profit from child labor, and every unaccompanied child must have a lawyer to safeguard the child’s rights.”
Health and Human Services Department on Although the Congress announced Thursday that their staff will work closely with them to manage all cases for migrant children in the next two-years, many are still being sent to sponsor with very little except the telephone number. for A national hotline was established, but it did not yet have a policy for calling back children.
Senior administration officials suggested that there might not be enough legal professionals. for To provide universal representation for unaccompanied migrants children
The pressure is increasing. on Companies are required to remove child labor from supply chains.
According to The Times, Michigan children work for Ford and General Motors in the production of auto parts. ABC Technologies (a publicly traded company) stated that they were taking the matter seriously and would be conducting an audit.
Sister Schubert’s Homemade Rolls, which is owned by the publicly traded company Lancaster Colony Corporation, said it had been unaware children were working in its plant, but was now investigating. Walmart and Target both sold the rolls but have since said that they were investigating. as well.
Gaspar Morales was a worker for Sister Schubert’s until August, said he regularly saw children as young as They worked overnight for 10 hours at the factory with 12 and 13, and occasionally helped them to get employed through a temporary agency.
“I help everybody out. Some people don’t like young kids working, but I’ll give them a chance,” He stated. He claimed that he did his best to keep the children out of industrial freezers.
This week was a busy week for many of those children who were mentioned in the Times’ investigation. Carolina Yoc was one of the children mentioned in the Times investigation. She had an appointment on Friday to begin her process for obtaining a work permit. Case management was also offered by the Health and Human Services Department. She hoped other families would soon be able to get the same support, according to her aunt.
