More Than 145,000 American Children Have Been Separated From Their Parents in Just Over a Year Because of Trump’s Immigration Policies

From January 2025 through April 2026, more than 145,000 underage U.S. citizens were separated from at least one parent as a result of the Trump administration’s tougher immigration policies. That is the conclusion reached by researchers at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

During that period, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers detained about 400,000 people. According to the institute’s estimates, the consequences of those detentions affected roughly 205,000 children, including 146,635 U.S. citizens whose one or both parents were arrested. Another 22,000 children, the study claims, lost both parents simultaneously.

Among the affected children, about 36% were younger than six years old. More than half of the children whose parents were detained are of Mexican origin. Another quarter come from families originating from Guatemala and Honduras.

The report’s authors note that ICE officers are required to ask detainees whether they have children. However, according to the researchers, this requirement is often not followed. In some cases, migrants themselves choose not to disclose their children out of fear of potential consequences for their families.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security previously stated that 18,200 immigrants with U.S.-citizen children were detained in 2025. The Brookings Institution argues that those figures are significantly understated.

The study also points to a lack of information about what happens to children after their parents are detained. Minors without legal status can be deported, although most of the children in such cases are U.S. citizens. In some instances, children leave with deported parents for their country of origin, but there are no precise statistics for those situations. Based on consultations with advocacy and social-service organizations, researchers concluded that most children remain with relatives or family acquaintances after their parents are detained.

“ICE does not separate families. Parents are asked whether they want to be deported together with their children, or whether ICE should place the children in the care of a safe individual designated by the parent. This is consistent with immigration enforcement policies carried out by previous administrations,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told The Guardian.

During his election campaign, Donald Trump pledged to sharply tighten immigration policy, including mass deportations of people living in the United States without legal status. After returning to the White House in January 2025, ICE was granted expanded powers to carry out large-scale deportation operations. As part of that policy, a daily quota was introduced requiring at least 3,000 detentions per day for subsequent deportation.

Several people died during raids carried out by immigration officers. Among the dead were Minneapolis residents Rene Good and Alex Pretty, both U.S. citizens. The incidents triggered protests and intensified criticism of the Department of Homeland Security and the Trump administration.