Investigators are interviewing the children, some as young as 13, to determine if there are any labor trafficking violations, the report said on Thursday, citing three officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
DHS, the report added, is not investigating the company that hired the children, Packers Sanitation Services Inc (PSSI), for human trafficking, but is trying to see if outside traffickers forced children to work for PSSI.
However, US authorities in a complaint in December said PSSI violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, which prohibits "oppressive child labor," by illegally hiring minors.
In court filings, the report added, PSSI did not deny hiring children but claimed it was due to “rogue individuals” who presented fake identification.
The company resolved the allegations by agreeing to a consent order that required PSSI to enhance policies.
PSSI, which employs 17,000 workers at 500 locations nationwide, has been owned by the giant private equity firm Blackstone since 2018.