Hundreds of immigrant children have been held in federal detention beyond legal time limits, with some detained for over five months, raising alarms among legal advocates about the government’s failure to protect these children.
Trump’s current immigration enforcement is separating families differently than in his first-term – officials are detaining tens of thousands of migrants and asylum-seekers inside the U.S., holding a record 66,000 people in often poor conditions while deporting others and dividing families of mixed legal status.
Federal immigration raids across southeast Louisiana and other cities have resulted in over 250 arrests this month, leaving some teenagers to suddenly take on adult responsibilities as breadwinners and caretakers after their parents were detained.
A federal court blocked ICE’s new policy of automatically transferring unaccompanied migrant children into adult detention facilities when they turn 18, reinforcing protections that keep immigrant teens out of adult centers.
Since Trump took office, at least 3,800 children including 20 infants have been detained by ICE due to the administration’s renewed family detention policy, according to an analysis of government data.
Federal border officials are pressuring unaccompanied migrant children into agreeing to return to their countries of origin despite safety concerns about returning home.
Federal workers at the agency handling unaccompanied minors who crossed the border report being instructed to stop releasing these children to their U.S.-based family members.
The House has passed a bill that would require the Department of Health and Human Services to consider additional information when deciding where to place unaccompanied migrant children in its custody.
This article, which quotes CICW Director, Kristina Lovato, and her research with unaccompanied minors, describes the multitude of challenges immigrant youth face as they navigate living amidst the Trump administration’s deportation agenda.
November 6, 2025 — Dr. Kristina Lovato, Assistant Professor of Social Welfare at UC Berkeley and Director of CICW, facilitated a peer dialogue at the 2025 California County Immigration & Child Welfare Convening. This interactive session featured a dynamic exchange among county child welfare leaders and practitioners on how systems across California have adapted to meet the evolving needs of immigrant children and families. The discussion surfaced strategies, promising practices, and lessons learned in advancing equitable, culturally responsive services statewide. Various links and resources from the event can be found at the link above.
© 2026 CICW.