Around fifty children may have been victims of labor trafficking by midwestern slaughterhouses.
Federal investigators are currently investigating a JBS Foods slaughterhouse located in Grand Island, Nebraska and other midwestern slaughterhouses after finding out that there are 50 children as young as 13 years old allegedly illegally "employed" to clean in these slaughterhouses.
According to three of the officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), these children are possible victims of human and labor trafficking.
Further, the officials shared that the investigating agents have already interviewed children from the company. However, there is still no indication whether DHS is also investigating Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI) for human trafficking.
They are trying to rule out the probability that there were outside traffickers that have forced the kids to work for PSSI to profit off their labor.
Packers Sanitation Services Inc.
The Labor Department investigated PSSI last year. As a result, the government filed a civil lawsuit against them.
PSSI was reported to have agreed to a consent order with the Labor Departments and committed to abide by the child labor laws.
The department's investigation revealed a total of 50 children working for the company in five locations including JBS Foods in Grand Island, and another one in Worthington, Minnesota.
With this, federal authorities informed them that they have violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, which outlaws "oppressive child labor" and minors from working in a hazardous environment, to which the Labor Department's Child Labor Regulations saw a lot of parts in slaughterhouse and meatpacking facilities that are unsafe for minors.
According to court documents, PSSI did not deny the hiring of the children. However, they pinpointed "rogue individuals" who presented identification with Social Security numbers that were recognized as fake after being verified through the government's E-Verify system.
The Labor Department stated that the investigation is still currently on-going as they are checking company records that are in 50 locations.
Read Also: Kingston Man Faces 76 Charges of Human Trafficking and Child Pornography
A new season, a new series
Grand Island and Worthington's local authorities and advocates have reported a surge in the number of "Spanish-speaking unaccompanied minors" in the past years in the areas. This observation has been supported by data from Health and Human Services data.
It was also revealed that the kids who worked for PSSI attend school in the day and work overnight making it more dangerous for them - working in a hazardous place with less rest and sleep, or none at all. Moreover, children were said to have chemical burns on their hands, a result of being exposed to strong cleaning chemicals, NBC News reported.
Four former PSSI employees also stated that aside from the chemicals, the cleaning conditions inside the slaughterhouses are "treacherous."
"We have not been contacted by DHS and have no knowledge that any such investigation exists. We have always taken rigorous steps to comply with the law, including use of the government's E-Verify system for new hires, extensive training for all hiring managers, multiple audits, and use of biometrics. Our compliance plans are also modeled after the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recommended best practices," Spokesperson of PSSI Gina Swenson stated.
Related Article: Human Trafficking Problem Surfaces in War-torn Ukraine After Chinese Pair Caught Smuggling Babies
