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Dismantling Protections: How ORR Policy Changes Trap Children in Extended Detention

By | Detention, Federal Policy, Immigrant Youth, Law & Policy, Law/Policy Highlight, Unaccompanied Minors

Dismantling Protections: How ORR Policy Changes Trap Children in Extended Detention

Jonathan Beier, Ruben Ortiz, and Kofi Forkuo-Sekyere; Acacia Center for Justice (September 2025)

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

Changes in Immigrant Eligibility Toolkit

By | Highlighted Resources, Practice, Practice Highlight, Public Charge, Social Workers, Youth & Families

Changes in Immigrant Eligibility Toolkit

Protecting Immigrant Families (December 8, 2025)

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.

Listening to caregivers of young children about immigration enforcement

By | Deportation, Family Separation, Immigrant Families Research, Immigration Enforcement, Research

Listening to caregivers of young children about immigration enforcement

RAPID Survey Project, Stanford Center on Early Childhood (February 24, 2026)

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.

Sanctuary Making: Immigrant Families Reshaping Geographies of Deportability

By | Immigrant Families Research, Immigration Enforcement, Research

Sanctuary Making: Immigrant Families Reshaping Geographies of Deportability

Carolina Valdivia, University of California Press (February 2026)

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.

 

The US Deportation System: History, Impacts, and New Empirical Research

By | Deportation, Immigrant Families Research, Research, Research Highlight

The US Deportation System: History, Impacts, and New Empirical Research

Caitlin Patler & Bradford Jones, The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences (November 2025)

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.

Considerations for Unaccompanied Immigrant Children in the Child Welfare Reform Debate

By | Child Welfare System Research, Foster Care, Immigrant Youth, Research, Research Highlight, Unaccompanied Minors

Considerations for Unaccompanied Immigrant Children in the Child Welfare Reform Debate

Zayna Lyon, Kerri Evans, Linda-Jeanne M. Mack, and Morgan Pardue-Kim; Families in Society (February 8, 2025)

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.

 

New Frameworks for Language Access: Tracking the Expansion and Features of State and Local Laws and Policies,

By | Immigrant Families Research, Language Issues, Research, Research Highlight

New Frameworks for Language Access: Tracking the Expansion and Features of State and Local Laws and Policies

Jacob Hofstetter, Migration Policy Institute (January 2026)

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.

Protect Your Children: Temporary Guardianship FAQ

By | Deportation, Detention, Family Separation, Immigration Enforcement, Practice, Practice Highlight, State Policies, Youth & Families

Protect Your Children: Temporary Guardianship FAQ

World Voices Media and La Red Hispana

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.

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