In March 2023, the Economic Policy Institute released a report analysing weakening child labour protections across the USA.

The report highlights a 37% increase in violations of child labour laws in the last year, and explores how at least 10 states have rolled back child labour protections in the past two years, which it describes as “a coordinated campaign backed by industry groups”. The report therefore suggests both that violations of child labour are increasing, and child labour protections are being weakened.

The report connects the rise in child labour with the country’s immigration system, highlighting how the immigration system leaves many unaccompanied migrant youth in limbo due to asylum backlogs, rendering them vulnerable to exploitation.

The report makes several recommendations for both federal and state policy makers. At the federal level, the report recommends a number of measures, including:

• Increase penalties for child labour violations.
• Address chronic underfunding of labour standard enforcement agencies.
• Eliminate weaker standards in certain sectors, such as agriculture.
• Pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act.
• Reform the immigration system to curb undocumented migrant worker and unaccompanied youth exploitation.

At the state level, the report recommends several measures, including:

• Stop lower wages for youth and raise the minimum wage.
• Remove the two-tiered system that fails to protect children from exploitation in the agricultural sector.
• Strengthen enforcement.
• Empower young people to strengthen unions.

An article released in July 2023 in Counterfire explores the reports' findings, and sheds light on the historical context of child labour. The article also emphasises broader attacks of workers’ rights in the country.