[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 37 (Monday, February 27, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H879-H880]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HORRIFIC CONDITIONS OF MIGRANT CHILD LABOR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Ms. Scholten) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SCHOLTEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on the House floor to bring 
attention to the horrific conditions of migrant child labor happening 
right here in the United States of America and to urge my colleagues to 
stand with me and bring solutions to this appalling state of affairs. I 
represent west Michigan where many of these migrant children reside.
  As an attorney who has spent my entire career fighting to make our 
immigration laws more just, more fair, more humane, and as a mother, I 
will not stand by as this tragedy continues. These are my constituents, 
these are my kids, and I will protect them with everything I have.
  This weekend, The New York Times published a stunning expose shining 
a light on the scores of migrant children currently working on our 
farms, our factories, and at some of the most dangerous sites in our 
country. These children, some as young as 12, are working marathon 
shifts, often with dangerous machinery to package our foods, sew our 
clothes, and build our homes. The industries that employ them turn a 
blind eye to these children's suffering, and often seek out and 
willingly participate in this despicable practice.
  In case I did not make myself clear, Mr. Speaker, these are children.
  Stories of kids dropping out of school, collapsing from exhaustion, 
and even losing limbs to machinery are the things that one might expect 
to find in a Charles Dickens or Upton Sinclair novel, but not an 
account of everyday life in America in 2023; surely not here, in the 
land of the free, where child labor protections have been on the books 
for nearly a century; not in the country that holds itself up as the 
paragon of democracy, guaranteeing life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness for all.
  And yet right here, Mr. Speaker, we are exploiting minors from other 
countries, children in an already vulnerable situation, to do dangerous 
work for low pay that often results in life-changing injuries. Those 
allowing these practices to continue should be ashamed of themselves.
  The company at the center of this article, Hearthside Foods, which 
packages the breakfast cereals and snacks many of us have in our 
cupboards right now, proudly proclaims that 25 percent of their 
employees have been with the company for over a decade. I wonder if 
they have similar statistics they could share with us about how many of 
their employees were even alive a decade ago.
  Many of us in this room are parents. I have two young children of my 
own, the same age as some of these kids in these stories. My heart 
aches for these children. As a mother myself, rest assured, I am 
approaching this problem with the urgency and ferocity that it 
deserves. I wouldn't walk away from my own children in these factories, 
and I sure as hell am not going to walk away from someone else's 
children.
  As soon as I read this story, I immediately picked up the phone and 
started demanding answers and action. I called the White House, HHS, 
and DOL. This is a multilevel, multisystem failure that created the 
shadows where these children can be exploited, and we need a 
multilevel, multisystem approach to fix it.
  I have called on the administration to create an interagency task 
force to ensure--ensure that this kind of child exploitation cannot 
happen in the United States. We, as a Congress, must also act. That 
means, first and foremost, holding the companies accountable with every 
tool at our disposable. It also means conducting oversight of the 
agencies responsible for enforcing these laws and ensuring they have 
the resources to protect the kids. What could possibly be a higher 
priority?
  At the heart of this matter, though, is that we need long-term 
solutions. We need comprehensive immigration reform that addresses the 
root cause of this problem. I know most of my colleagues on both sides 
of the aisle would agree that reform is long overdue.
  We need reform that addresses the border security, provides 
sufficient pathways for individuals to come to the United States of 
America, and addresses the root cause of migration.

[[Page H880]]

  A safe and effective immigration system is essential for the United 
States to lead in a 21st century economy. It is a critical national 
security component, essential for protecting human rights, and 
fundamental to our identity as a land of prosperity and opportunity.
  I have worked on all aspects of immigration from enforcement to 
advocacy and across party lines. I believe we can have an immigration 
system that keeps our country safe and honors human dignity because I 
have done it. I have worked on it, and I know I have colleagues in both 
parties who agree with me. I have already spoken with many of you who 
have expressed the same ideas.
  I know that my colleagues across the aisle care as deeply about 
children as I do. I know that as they have stood with righteous 
indignation to fight for the sanctity of life, I believe now they also 
have the courage and moral fortitude to stand and protect children from 
life-threatening harm and exploitive work.
  Let's come together and get this done.

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