Advocates are trying to defend a 40-year-old injunction that guarantees unaccompanied immigrant children the right to be informed of their legal options and contact a trusted adult before making immigration decisions — protections the Trump administration is now seeking to eliminate.
Despite objections from federal health and child welfare officials warning of inadequate specialized care, the Trump administration is funneling all pregnant unaccompanied migrant girls to a single South Texas shelter.
A Russian family who fled oppression seeking safety in America has spent four months detained at a Texas immigration facility, where they and their three children have endured conditions they never imagined possible in the U.S.
Advocates warn that a new wave of rapid deportations — with immigrants vanishing during traffic stops, school drop-offs, and commutes — amounts to a modern form of family separation, leaving children and loved ones with little to no warning before their parents are gone.
An estimated 100,000 children experienced a parent’s detention in the first ten months of 2025 — yet no system exists to identify or protect the children left behind, prompting calls for government policies to ensure their safety and wellbeing.
This webinar will explore how escalating immigration enforcement and sweeping exclusions from health coverage are threatening immigrant families’ wellbeing. Panelists will discuss the history of exclusionary health policies, recent federal and state actions, and a vision for inclusive coverage solutions.
This webinar examines how state and local governments can protect and expand language access policies as the Trump administration declares English the official language and dismantles federal language access initiatives, leaving nearly 28 million limited-English-proficient U.S. residents facing growing uncertainty.
This webinar will examine how heightened immigration enforcement is threatening the safety of immigrant students and families in schools, covering key policy changes, know-your-rights guidance, and advocacy opportunities for service providers and policymakers.
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.
© 2026 CICW.