ISTANBUL

More than 3,800 children were found to be working at US firms in 2022 in violation of federal law, the Labor Department said and announced a new crackdown on child labor.

In a statement released on Monday, the US Department of Labor said they have seen a nearly 70% rise in illegal child labor since 2018.

“In the last fiscal year, the department found 835 companies it investigated had employed more than 3,800 children in violation of labor laws,” the statement said.

The Labor Department currently has more than 600 child labor investigations underway and “continues to field complaints and initiate investigations to protect children.”

The statement further said that the US has seen an influx of children fleeing poverty and violence in Latin America, a majority of them without parents.

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said: "We see every day the scourge of child labor in this country, and we have a legal and a moral obligation to take every step in our power to prevent it."

“This is not a 19th-century problem — this is a today problem,” Walsh said, adding: “We need Congress to come to the table, we need states to come to the table.”