Workers in a pork processing plant, 2016. Photo courtesy of U.S. General Accountability Office.
More than 4,700 unaccompanied minor migrants have been released into Minnesota since 2015, according to U.S. Health and Human Services data released by the New York Times. Hydrogen Plant From Natural Gas
Most are from Central and South American countries. Their numbers skyrocketed following the pandemic, which devastated economies in the region while also creating a labor shortage in the U.S. As a result, many families and their children made the dangerous trek to the United States in search of economic opportunity . The Biden administration’s moves to reverse some of the Trump administration’s restrictive policies may have also played a role.
The journey is especially dangerous for children. For those who arrive in Minnesota, roughly half are released to the custody of close family members like siblings, uncles and grandparents, while another 40% join their parents, the data show.
But roughly 10% of the minors end up in the homes of unrelated adults or distant relatives, arrangements that advocates say can lead to abuse and exploitation .
Child labor violations are an area of particular concern. The New York Times found that nationally , migrant children living with unrelated adults are often clustered in agricultural and manufacturing centers, suggesting they are searching for work in order to help families back home.
But those jobs can be dangerous, and numerous child labor law violations, many involving immigrant children, have made headlines in recent months .
The Minnesota data matches those national trends. Migrant children living with unrelated adults are most highly concentrated in Worthington, where JBS Foods had at least 22 underage children working overnight shifts cleaning a slaughterhouse. The janitorial company employing those children also sent underage workers to plants in St. Cloud and Austin, which also stand out on the map.
Other communities with unusually high numbers of migrant children living with unrelated adults include:
Several Twin Cities zip codes also rank highly on the list, although it’s unclear whether this is due to the presence of specific employers or simply the large immigrant population in the metro.
The data does not include names of the children or their sponsors, nor does it have any specific information on their work or school status. Some children might end up in communities like Worthington because the businesses there employ large numbers of adult migrants , with strong social networks forming as a result.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
by Christopher Ingraham, Minnesota Reformer May 6, 2024
by Christopher Ingraham, Minnesota Reformer May 6, 2024
More than 4,700 unaccompanied minor migrants have been released into Minnesota since 2015, according to U.S. Health and Human Services data released by the New York Times.
Most are from Central and South American countries. Their numbers skyrocketed following the pandemic, which devastated economies in the region while also creating a labor shortage in the U.S. As a result, many families and their children made the dangerous trek to the United States in search of economic opportunity. The Biden administration’s moves to reverse some of the Trump administration’s restrictive policies may have also played a role.
The journey is especially dangerous for children. For those who arrive in Minnesota, roughly half are released to the custody of close family members like siblings, uncles and grandparents, while another 40% join their parents, the data show.
But roughly 10% of the minors end up in the homes of unrelated adults or distant relatives, arrangements that advocates say can lead to abuse and exploitation.
Child labor violations are an area of particular concern. The New York Times found that nationally, migrant children living with unrelated adults are often clustered in agricultural and manufacturing centers, suggesting they are searching for work in order to help families back home.
But those jobs can be dangerous, and numerous child labor law violations, many involving immigrant children, have made headlines in recent months.
The Minnesota data matches those national trends. Migrant children living with unrelated adults are most highly concentrated in Worthington, where JBS Foods had at least 22 underage children working overnight shifts cleaning a slaughterhouse. The janitorial company employing those children also sent underage workers to plants in St. Cloud and Austin, which also stand out on the map.
Other communities with unusually high numbers of migrant children living with unrelated adults include:
Several Twin Cities zip codes also rank highly on the list, although it’s unclear whether this is due to the presence of specific employers or simply the large immigrant population in the metro.
The data does not include names of the children or their sponsors, nor does it have any specific information on their work or school status. Some children might end up in communities like Worthington because the businesses there employ large numbers of adult migrants, with strong social networks forming as a result.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com. Follow Minnesota Reformer on Facebook and Twitter.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.
Christopher Ingraham covers greater Minnesota and reports on data-driven stories across the state. He's the author of the book "If You Lived Here You'd Be Home By Now," about his family's journey from the Baltimore suburbs to rural northwest Minnesota. He was previously a data reporter for the Washington Post.
Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell. We’re in the halls of government tracking what elected officials are up to — and monitoring the powerful forces trying to influence them. But we’re also on the streets, at the bars and parks, on farms and in warehouses, telling you stories of the people being affected by the actions of government and big business. And we’re free. No ads. No paywall.
We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
DEIJ Policy | Ethics Policy | Privacy Policy
Hydrogen Gas Generator Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website.