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A recent study by the Brookings Institution has unveiled a troubling reality: since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term, over 145,000 children in the United States have faced the trauma of parental detention by immigration authorities. This significant figure highlights the ongoing ramifications of a hardline immigration policy, raising concerns among civil rights advocates and child welfare organisations.
Scale of the Crisis
The report, released on 15 May 2026, estimates that approximately 146,635 American children have experienced the detention of at least one parent during the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation initiatives, which intensified following his inauguration in January. Notably, more than 22,000 of these children have seen both co-resident parents detained. Alarmingly, nearly 36% of these affected children are under the age of six, indicating the profound impact of immigration enforcement on vulnerable families.
The demographic breakdown reveals that a significant portion—around 54%—of these children are linked to Mexican parents, while those with Guatemalan and Honduran parents collectively account for over 25%. This trend underscores the disproportionate impact of immigration policies on certain communities.
Geographic Disparities
The findings also highlight geographical disparities, with Washington D.C. and Texas showing the highest rates of parental detention among American children. In these regions, more than five children per 1,000 are reported to have a parent facing immigration detention. The report cites data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which documented 18,277 detainees with US citizen children in fiscal year 2025. However, researchers caution that this figure likely represents a significant underestimate.
An earlier investigation by The Guardian indicated that around 18,400 parental arrests in the first seven months of 2025 had affected upwards of 32,000 children, including at least 12,000 who are US citizens. This investigation further highlighted that the pace of parental arrests nearly doubled that of the previous year, reflecting a stark shift in immigration enforcement strategies.
Data Collection Challenges
The Brookings researchers noted challenges in accurately capturing the full extent of parental detention. Many detainees either do not disclose whether they have children or are not asked about their familial status, often due to fears of possible repercussions. To fill these gaps, the researchers utilised demographic data from the Detention Data Project, correlating detainee characteristics with those of undocumented individuals identified in the American Community Survey.
With an estimated 13 million undocumented adults in the US, more than 4.6 million citizen children live with at least one parent at risk of deportation. Approximately 2.5 million could face the situation where all parents in the household are detained.
Government Accountability and Child Welfare
The report asserts that the current administration is unlikely to meet its objective of removing every undocumented immigrant from
