In the dystopian society of Among the Hidden, the despotic government takes extreme measures to prevent overpopulation. All families are limited to no more than two children, and this law is ruthlessly enforced by the Population Police. It's never actually spelled out exactly what happens to so-called Shadow Children like Luke and Jen, those deemed surplus to society's requirements, but we can safely assume that it wouldn't be a very pleasant fate.
We can say this with some degree of certainty given what happens to Jen and some other children later on in the story. They attend an anti-government rally demanding rights for Shadow Children. Jen had assured Luke that there'd be so many children there that the police would be overwhelmed. Unfortunately, that's not what happens. Instead, the police brutally shoot all the children to death, including Jen. This illustrates the sheer brutality of the regime and shows us why Luke was always right to worry about the Population Police knocking on his door.
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