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 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 brief details interviews with child care providers who report that the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda is causing families to withdraw toddlers from care, children to experience heightened anxiety, and providers to fear for their own safety while trying to support immigrant families.
This study examined the emotional responses and the immigration socialization process for children in California navigating the immigration policy climate.
This systematic review synthesized data on the detrimental impact of immigration detention on children’s mental health, including high rates of depression and PTSD, underscoring the need for alternative immigration policies that eliminate the detention of children and families.
This study explores the challenges faced by Mexican and Central American mothers and youth reunifying in the U.S. after migration-related separations, highlighting the ongoing trauma, ambiguous loss, migratory grief, and attachment disruptions that impact their relationships, while also noting mothers’ efforts to repair these bonds.
This report and advocacy brief detail the findings of a study examining family reunification policies and practices for unaccompanied children in federal custody and provide recommendations related to the care environment, ORR family finding and placement procedures, and follow-up supports for reunited families.
This report summarizes hundreds of complaints by unaccompanied immigrant children of physical and verbal abuse and lack of hygiene products and medical care while in U.S. Border Patrol custody.
This 5-module online asynchronous, self-paced course explores how service organizations and practitioners can implement policies and practices to increase inclusivity of immigrant families, and how trauma-informed practice can be tailored to address the unique experiences of immigrant families. It also includes discussion of a model for implementing immigrant specialist navigators within organizations. 6 free cultural social work CEUs available. Learn more here: https://cimmcw.org/immigrant-inclusivity-training/ or enroll at the link above.
This report details findings and recommendations from an 18-month interdisciplinary study that explored the conditions of care for unaccompanied children in federal custody.
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