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A recent analysis by the Brookings Institution has revealed that over 145,000 children, who are U.S. citizens, have likely been separated from at least one parent due to immigration detention during the second Trump administration.
The findings, unveiled on Monday, highlight that more than 22,000 of these children have had one or both of their live-in parents taken into detention. According to the nonprofit public policy group, merely 5 percent, or around 1,000 children, have accessed services from the child welfare system. This data was compiled through interviews with community organizations and child welfare agencies.
Some of these affected minors are currently residing with relatives or friends, while others have left the United States to accompany their deported parents.
“There is no comprehensive strategy in place to safeguard the children of individuals detained by ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement],” states the Brookings report.
The report further explains, “ICE does not take an active role in ensuring the welfare of a detainee’s children, referring to child protection services only if children are present during an arrest and no immediate care alternatives are available.”
ICE told The Hill that its offering undocumented immigrants $2,600 and a flight free of charge in an effort to encourage individuals to self-deport.
“ICE does not separate families. Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates,” the agency said in a statement.
“This is consistent with past administration’s immigration enforcement. Being in detention is a choice. Parents can take control of their departure with the CBP Home app and reserve the chance to come back the right legal way,” they added.
Brookings estimates that 36.5 percent of children who were separated from their guardian are under the age of 6, 36.1 percent are between the ages of 6 to 12 and 27.4 percent are between the ages of 13 to 17.
More than half, 53.7 percent, have a detained parent from Mexico, followed by 15 percent of those who have a detained parent from Guatemala and 10.7 percent whose country of origin is Honduras.
Other demographics show parents from Ecuador, El Salvador, Asia and either Latin American or Caribbean countries.
Washington, D.C. and Texas have the highest share of U.S. citizen children with an affected parent, with more than 5 per 1,000 facing a parental detention, according to Brookings.
The Department of Homeland Security said for FY 2025 a total of 18,277 detainees are parents to children with U.S. citizenship, which Brookings say is “almost certainly a substantial undercount.”
Brookings used the information from the Detention Data Project to infer the number of U.S. citizen children with detained parents.
They matched the detainees’ country or region, age, sex, and marital status to likely undocumented individuals surveyed in the American Community Survey, a nationally representative household survey to produce the Monday report.
The Hill has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for further comment.