White House promises crackdown on migrant child labor

A migrant couple looks towards the border fence trying to decide whether or not to cross the Rio Grande River in their attempt to enter into El Paso, Texas from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

The Biden administration said Monday that it is creating a new task force to crack down on an explosion of the illegal exploitation of migrant children for labor in the U.S.

Hundreds of companies that employed nearly 4,000 children last year were found in violation of federal labor laws, a dramatic increase in the last five years.

The growing problem has put Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in the hot seat, with concerns mounting that migrant children have been discharged from shelters and out of federal custody too quickly, pushing them into vulnerable situations where they’re more likely to become victims of child labor.