As federal immigration enforcement agencies embark on what President Donald Trump has characterized as the most extensive series of deportations in U.S. history, several states are enacting legislation intended to prevent children from entering the foster care system when their detained parents lack available family or friends to assume temporary guardianship.
The federal government does not maintain records on the number of children who have been placed in foster care due to immigration enforcement actions, rendering it difficult to ascertain the frequency of such occurrences. In Oregon, as of February, two children had been separated from their parents and placed in foster care following immigration detention cases, according to Jake Sunderland, a representative for the Oregon Department of Human Services.
“Prior to the fall of 2025, this situation was virtually unprecedented,” Sunderland stated.
As of the middle of February, Immigration and Customs Enforcement was holding close to 70,000 individuals. The record high of 73,000 individuals in detention during January marked an 84% increase compared to the same period in the preceding year. ProPublica’s reporting indicates that from the commencement of Trump’s term through August, the parents of 11,000 U.S. citizen children were detained.
The news organization NOTUS reported in February that at least 32 children whose parents were either detained or deported had been placed in foster care across seven different states.
Sandy Santana, the executive director of Children’s Rights, a legal advocacy group, believes the actual figure is substantially higher.
“That number, in our assessment, appears remarkably low,” he remarked.
Parental separation inflicts profound trauma on children, potentially leading to a range of health and psychological issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder. Extended periods of intense stress can result in a greater susceptibility to infections in children and can impede developmental progress. This state of “toxic stress” has also been correlated with detrimental effects on brain regions responsible for cognitive functions such as learning and memory, according to KFF.
During Trump’s initial term, Maryland, New York, Washington D.C., and Virginia revised existing statutes to empower guardians with provisional parental rights for immigration enforcement-related reasons. The intensified enforcement that commenced following Trump’s return to office last year has now spurred a new wave of state-level responses.
In New Jersey, legislators are currently deliberating a bill that aims to modify a state statute permitting parents to designate standby, or temporary, guardians in instances of death, incapacitation, or severe illness. The proposed legislation would incorporate separation resulting from federal immigration enforcement as an additional permissible justification.
Last year, Nevada and California enacted legislation designed to safeguard families separated by immigration enforcement operations. California’s statute, known as the Family Preparedness Plan Act, enables parents to nominate guardians and share custodial authority, rather than having it entirely suspended, while they are in detention. Full parental rights are reinstated to them upon their release and subsequent reunion with their children.
Significant legal obstacles often impede reunification once a child is placed under state custody, according to Juan Guzman, director of children’s court and guardianship at the Alliance for Children’s Rights, a legal advocacy organization based in Los Angeles.
If a parent’s child enters foster care and the parent is unable to engage in mandatory court proceedings due to their detention or deportation, their prospects of reuniting with their child diminish, Guzman explained.
Estimates suggest that 5.6 million children are U.S. citizens residing with a parent or family member who lacks legal immigration status, based on research conducted by the Brookings Institution, a think tank situated in Washington D.C. Within this demographic, 2.6 million children have two parents without legal immigration status.
Santana anticipates an increase in family separation cases as the Trump administration continues its immigration enforcement initiatives, thereby elevating the risk of children being placed in foster care.
ICE directives mandate that the agency undertake efforts to facilitate the participation of detained parents in family court, child welfare, or guardianship proceedings. However, Santana expressed uncertainty regarding ICE’s adherence to these protocols.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials offered no response to requests for commentary pertaining to this report.
Prior to the legislative changes in California, the sole avenue for a parent to delegate custodial rights to another guardian was in cases where the parent was terminally ill, Guzman noted.
Should parents establish a preparedness plan and designate an individual to assume guardianship of their children, the state’s child welfare agency can initiate the process of placing the children with that individual without the necessity of opening a formal foster care case, he added.
While Nevada legislators expanded an existing guardianship law last year to encompass immigration enforcement scenarios, the provision necessitates that parents submit notarized documentation to the secretary of state’s office, an administrative requirement that could pose difficulties, according to Cristian Gonzalez-Perez, an attorney with Make the Road Nevada, a nonprofit organization that provides support to immigrant communities.
Gonzalez-Perez indicated that some immigrants remain apprehensive about completing government forms, fearing that ICE might access their information and target them. He reassures individuals within the community that the state forms are secure and accessible only to healthcare facilities and judicial bodies.
The Trump administration has implemented unprecedented measures to access sensitive information through entities such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the IRS, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, among others.
Both Gonzalez-Perez and Guzman stated that an insufficient number of immigrant parents are aware of their rights. Designating a temporary guardian and developing a plan for their families represents a proactive measure they can take to mitigate feelings of powerlessness, Gonzalez-Perez commented.
“People are reluctant to discuss this, aren’t they?” Guzman queried. “The emotional burden on a parent who must speak with their child about the possibility of separation is immense. It’s a situation no one wishes to confront.”
