Child labor investigation spreads to meatpacking, produce companies in 11 states

A federal investigation into Guatemalan children working in the U.S. in violation of child labor laws has expanded to include meatpacking and produce firms that have allegedly hired underage migrants in at least 11 states, two senior U.S. officials told NBC News.

Investigators from the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Justice Department, as well as White House officials, are participating in the expanded inquiry, the officials said. The meatpacking and produce companies under scrutiny for possible child labor violations operate across the country in locations from Virginia to Colorado, the sources said. 

The investigation is part of a broader push by Biden administration agencies, including the Labor Department, to crack down on child labor violations. The Labor Department has documented a 69% increase in children employed in violation of child labor laws since 2018.

Earlier this year, NBC News reported that according to two U.S. officials familiar with the investigation, DHS and the Justice Department were trying to determine whether a human smuggling scheme brought migrant children to work for multiple companies in the meatpacking sector nationwide. The officials said the companies themselves were not targets of the investigation.

The investigators would not name any of the companies currently under investigation. Penalties could range from civil fines to criminal charges, the officials said, but no charges have been filed. 

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