Over 145,000 US children separated from parents since Trump’s ICE surge, study estimates
Summary
Since President Donald Trump began his second term, over 145,000 US children likely had a parent detained by immigration authorities, according to a Brookings Institution report. The study highlights that many affected children are very young and come from families linked mostly to Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras.Key Facts
- About 146,635 US citizen children had a parent detained since January of President Trump's second term.
- More than 22,000 children had all their co-resident parents detained.
- Around 36% of these children are younger than six years old.
- Nearly 54% of affected children have parents from Mexico; over 25% have parents from Guatemala and Honduras combined.
- Washington DC and Texas had the highest rates of children with detained parents, with over five children per 1,000 impacted.
- The US Department of Homeland Security reported 18,277 detainees with US citizen children in fiscal 2025 but this number likely undercounts.
- Investigations found that about 18,400 parents had been arrested in the first 7 months of 2025, affecting around 32,000 children, including 12,000 US citizens.
- The DHS states families are not separated forcefully, and parents can decide whether to leave with their children or have them placed with a safe person.
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