This report examines how the second Trump administration’s record-level immigration enforcement has led to widespread family separations, with parents frequently deported without the opportunity to arrange for their children’s care.
According to this Marshall Project analysis, the number of children held in ICE detention has surged more than sixfold under the second Trump administration, from an average of 25 children per day under Biden to around 170.
This policy brief argues that government-enforced family separation is not merely a regulatory decision but a traumatic severing of family bonds that undermines child welfare, destabilizes communities, and violates children’s fundamental right to safety and belonging.
This report discusses how recent policy changes within ORR that break down pathways to release are keeping children in detention for prolonged periods of time
This parent-facing brochure offers guidance on how to talk with children about immigration enforcement and raids in their communities.
This toolkit clarifies which public benefits — including SNAP, Medicaid, and Head Start — immigrant families may still be eligible for, addressing the confusion around eligibility rules that causes many families to forgo food and nutrition support they qualify for.
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.
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.
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