Virginia's unaccompanied migrant children face brutal jobs
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Richmond had the 16th highest number of unaccompanied migrant kids among U.S. cities between 2015 and 2023.
- That's based on federal data on the ZIP codes of migrant children sponsors obtained by the New York Times via public records requests.
Why it matters: Unaccompanied migrant children are often overlooked in the debate over immigration, even though they're an especially vulnerable group that the Times found "are ending up in some of the most punishing jobs in the country."
By the numbers: More than 3,400 unaccompanied migrant children arrived in Richmond city between January 2015 and May 2023.
- 824 went to Henrico. Chesterfield and Hanover aren't listed in the data.
- But other Virginia localities with more than 2,300 unaccompanied migrant children include Alexandria, Manassas and Falls Church.
Zoom in: Virginia is mentioned three times in the Times' reports. The first notes "girls as young as 13 wash hotel sheets in Virginia."
- The other introduces a 15-year-old boy in Manassas who was forced to paint houses and guard an apartment complex.
- "His sponsor took his paychecks and watched him on security cameras as he slept on the basement floor," wrote the Times.
- The third focuses on a 14-year-old boy who almost lost his arm while working at a slaughterhouse in rural Virginia.
Flashback: Earlier this year, Attorney General Jason Miyares wrote to the Biden administration, saying: "No child should experience the uncertainty and vulnerability that these migrant minors are facing."