This webinar will review the Trump administration’s first year of immigration policy changes, covering shifts in enforcement, detention, and deportation, as well as rights assertion and advocacy opportunities for direct service providers, advocates, and policymakers.
This fact sheet draws on national survey data from parents and child care providers on the widespread impact of intensified federal immigration enforcement in fall 2025, with findings broken down by immigration status to capture how families are experiencing the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history.
CICW Director, Dr. Kristina Lovato, recently shared insights on the intersections of immigration, child welfare, and domestic violence at the UCLA Pritzker Center’s online summit, 5 Years Forward: Progress and Partnership at the Intersection of Child Welfare and Domestic Violence. Please see their report for key findings from their research at the intersections of domestic violence and child welfare in Los Angeles County.
At the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Conference, on Friday, January 16th, 2026, Dr. Kristina Lovato organized a timely symposium titled “Borders Within, Bridges Beyond: Community Healing and Empowerment across Youth, Family, and Organizations in the Contemporary Immigration Climate.” The symposium brought together panelists Dr. Cheryl Aguilar, Dr. Arlene Bjugstad, and Dr Tatiana Londono, with discussion led by Dr. Maryam Rafiefar. Together, the panel explored community-centered responses to the current immigration climate, highlighting pathways for healing, resilience, and cross-sector collaboration among youth, families, and organizations.
The Center on Immigration and Child Welfare (CICW) is recruiting child welfare professionals and legal service providers in California to participate in a 30–40 minute survey and interview for our study, Empowering Child Welfare Practice at the Intersections of Immigration and Child Wellbeing. This research brings together child welfare practitioners, legal service providers, and immigrant families to advance culturally responsive and trauma-informed practice across California. Participants will receive a $30 honorarium. For more information or to participate, please contact: PI, Dr. Kristina Lovato at childwelfarefamilyvoices@
This book examines how immigration enforcement has expanded beyond the border into everyday interior spaces—neighborhoods, workplaces, hospitals, and homes—revealing how young adults in undocumented and mixed-status families take on significant emotional and legal labor to create sanctuary for their families amid pervasive fear and anxiety.
This article reviews multidisciplinary research on the U.S. deportation system and its implications for individuals, families, communities, and the U.S. economy while identifying gaps and directions for future research.
This article examines how the debate over abolishing or reforming the child welfare system has overlooked unaccompanied immigrant children served by ORR, calling for greater access to ORR data and more participatory research to inform policy and practice.
This report examines the growing importance of state and local language access policies as federal protections weaken, finding that these efforts are vital for meeting the everyday communication needs of governments and their communities.
This policy analysis reviews the exclusionary policies impacting immigrant youth and their families.
This website offers state-by-state guidance on designating temporary guardianship to a trusted adult, with FAQs about establishing emergency contacts or temporary caregivers in case parents are detained or deported and separated from their children.
This webinar addresses the 2025 surge in immigration enforcement that has separated hundreds of thousands of children from detained or deported parents, discussing child and family rights, legislative oversight, and family-centered response strategies.
This resource addresses concerns about the Trump administration’s January 2025 expansion of expedited removal to the U.S. interior, providing common questions and legal arguments against applying this deportation process to unaccompanied children or special immigrant juvenile status recipients.
This practice advisory outlines ongoing DACA trends, policy changes, and potential future scenarios amid uncertain litigation and Trump administration attacks on immigrants, providing crucial information for advocates to help DACA holders strategize and prepare for possible changes to the program.
This policy brief documents how the Trump administration is using government agencies to separate families and remove thousands of children from the U.S., disregarding children’s rights and safety while deepening trauma and blocking reunification, and calls for urgent action to restore protections for family unity and children’s well-being.
This is a two-day intensive workshop introducing mental health professionals to conducting assessments in support of immigration cases.
This webinar will cover the history and harms of family detention in immigration enforcement and offers practical skills for providing services and advocacy to affected individuals, families, and communities.
This webinar will share new messaging research to help advocates effectively communicate with audiences about the challenges faced by children in immigrant families during heightened enforcement.
This session will train social workers in culturally responsive, trauma-informed approaches for supporting immigrant clients facing fear, separation, and legal uncertainty during heightened enforcement, while also addressing practitioners’ own wellbeing through self-care and collective care strategies to prevent burnout.
This training with immigration attorney Katie Blankenship covers how to safely conduct research with immigrant communities during the current challenging enforcement climate.
© 2026 CICW.