Hannah Dreier of the New York Times has won the 2023 Feddie Award from the National Press Foundation for investigative reporting on the labor exploitation of migrant children in the U.S.

The Feddie Reporting Award was established by the National Press Foundation in 2010 to recognize outstanding reporting about the impact of federal laws and regulations on local communities.

Dreier reported that of the more than 250,000 migrant children who have come alone to the United States over the past two years, thousands have ended up in punishing jobs. She told the “heartbreaking and harrowing” stories of these children, NPF judges said, and revealed that White House advisers and others had ignored repeated warnings about child labor.

Photo Credit: Kirsten Luce for The New York Times

The judges noted the immediate impact of Dreier’s reporting, leading to the resignation of Biden domestic policy chief Susan Rice, Congressional hearings for Health & Human Services Sec. Xavier Becerra and Department of Labor investigations into Perdue and Tyson Foods.

The series “stood out” for uncovering a “massive policy failure over several administrations with no solutions in sight,” the judges said. The judging panel also praised the visual presentation for an altogether “riveting” collection of investigative journalism.

Dreier’s editor, Kirsten Danis, accepted the award on her behalf  at NPF’s Annual Awards Dinner on Feb. 15, 2024.