Brookings Report Estimates 100,000 US Children Affected by Parental Immigration Detention
While the Department of Homeland Security denies separating families, revised ICE guidelines and lack of official tracking leave outcomes for children uncertain.
A report published by the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution estimates that more than 100,000 US citizen children have had a parent detained since President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign began last year. The analysis, which draws on reporting from ProPublica, suggests that approximately 200,000 children in total have been affected by parental detention. The Trump administration does not officially track family separations, making precise verification of these figures difficult.
The Brookings estimate utilises census information to approximate the number of children associated with detainees. The think tank calculated that roughly 145,000 American children have been impacted, though it noted the actual number could be higher or lower. This contrasts with a more conservative approach taken by ProPublica, which relied on government data obtained through a public information lawsuit by the University of Washington. That analysis found at least 11,000 American children had a parent detained in the first seven months of Trump’s second term.
ProPublica’s reporting also indicated that the current administration has been deporting approximately four times as many mothers of American children per day compared to the previous administration under President Joe Biden. Tara Watson, an author of the Brookings report, highlighted the significant gaps in data regarding child outcomes. She noted uncertainty regarding how many children are leaving the United States, staying with family, or remain in unknown situations.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), maintains that it does not separate families. In response to the findings, the agency stated that parents are asked whether they wish to be removed with their children or have them placed with a designated caregiver. However, ICE guidelines have been revised; the 'Parental Interests Directive' has been renamed the 'Detained Parents Directive', and its preamble no longer instructs agents to handle parents in a "humane" manner.
Documentation of specific cases reveals the practical impact of these sweeps. ProPublica reported on Doris Flores, a mother from Honduras, who was separated from her infant and eight-year-old daughter after arrest. In the absence of immediate family support, the children were taken in by a local pastor. Brookings noted that approximately 400,000 people have been detained by immigration agents since Trump returned to office, with family dispersal across the country making tracking more difficult than during the border-focused policies of the past.
