"The fear is pervasive. It’s not just about parents being separated; it’s about children internalizing a constant sense of threat, impacting their development, education, and mental health for years to come."
The hopeful gaze of a young girl, searching for her mother’s return, encapsulates the profound emotional and psychological toll of federal immigration enforcement policies on children. As Norma Gómez, a project manager for a nonprofit aiding immigrant families, discovered firsthand in Oxnard, California, her ability to provide material aid – food, diapers, clothing – could not fill the void left by parental absence. This poignant encounter underscores a growing crisis: the devastating consequences of immigration policies, particularly those enacted or intensified since 2017, on the health and well-being of millions of children with immigrant backgrounds, many of whom are U.S. citizens. These policies are not merely affecting the legal status of adults but are deeply destabilizing families, creating environments of fear, and leading to long-term developmental harm, impacting everything from academic achievement to lifelong health outcomes.
The landscape of immigration enforcement has become increasingly stringent, creating a ripple effect that touches nearly every aspect of an immigrant family’s life. Since President Trump’s return to office, millions of immigrant families have experienced significant upheaval. Through April, an estimated 205,000 children have had at least one parent detained by immigration authorities, a figure that has undoubtedly continued to rise. This separation is not a benign event; research consistently demonstrates that such experiences are profoundly damaging to children psychologically. Families are left destabilized, with the remaining parent or caregiver struggling to maintain housing, secure food, and meet their children’s medical needs. In some tragic instances, children are left entirely alone to fend for themselves.
The distress is not confined to those whose parents have been detained or deported. Even children whose parents maintain legal status or are citizens are experiencing heightened threats to their health and well-being. The pervasive climate of fear, amplified by increased enforcement actions, has led to dire consequences. Two children in the South died by suicide in February 2025, reportedly after facing bullying linked to their family’s alleged immigration status, a stark indicator of the extreme psychological pressure these young individuals are under.
Millions of children in immigrant families are losing access to critical resources, including medical care, food assistance, and tax credits, as federal and state governments implement policies that restrict eligibility for immigrants, regardless of their legal status. The fear of federal enforcement has become a significant deterrent, pushing parents to avoid essential activities such as taking their children to school, seeking medical attention, or participating in social events. Consequently, many have disenrolled from or actively avoided enrolling their children in vital health and nutrition programs, further jeopardizing their well-being.
Children from immigrant backgrounds are living under a constant shadow of fear. This anxiety manifests in increased emotional distress, a rise in bullying within school environments, and a pervasive worry about racial profiling by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), even when the children themselves or their family members are citizens or legal residents. This psychological burden is particularly acute given that a significant portion of children in the U.S. have immigrant parents. Approximately one in four U.S.-born children have an immigrant parent, with around 4.6 million of these children having a parent who lacks legal status.
Wendy Cervantes, director of immigration and immigrant families at the Center for Law and Social Policy, expresses deep concern about the long-term implications for this generation. "I’m really concerned about how long it’s going to take for us as a country to address all of the harm that’s happening to this generation of kids," she stated. "This type of stress can have long-term developmental harm and can really inhibit their ability to do well in school, to have good health outcomes, and to grow into thriving, stable adults."
Curbing Public Benefits and Intensifying Enforcement
President Trump has made immigration enforcement a central priority, a focus that has disproportionately impacted immigrant children. On Inauguration Day of his second term, an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship for children born to parents without legal status or on temporary visas was issued, though this particular measure was ultimately blocked by the Supreme Court.
The administration, with substantial backing from Republicans in Congress, has significantly increased funding for immigration enforcement. As of April, an estimated 145,000 U.S. citizen children have had parents detained by immigration authorities. According to an analysis by The Marshall Project, over 6,200 children have been detained under the Trump administration’s policies. Efforts have also been made to rescind Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for over one million immigrants, many of whom have U.S. citizen children. Furthermore, renewals for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program have been stalled, impacting the parents of approximately 300,000 citizen children.
White House officials argue that these immigration crackdowns benefit American citizens by freeing up resources such as jobs and housing, reducing the strain on public finances, expelling individuals deemed criminals, and restoring integrity to the immigration system. However, studies have indicated that mass deportations can negatively impact U.S. workers. President Trump and other Republican leaders have contended that birthright citizenship encourages unauthorized immigration and "birth tourism." They also argue that TPS has allowed individuals from "dangerous, third-world countries" to remain in the United States indefinitely, undermining the program’s temporary nature.
In response to inquiries about the long-term harm to children and increased healthcare costs associated with these policies, a White House spokesperson, Lauren Bis, reiterated criticisms of President Biden’s immigration policies, asserting they allowed children to be trafficked across the U.S. border. "The real story is the psychiatric impact on the tens of thousands of children who were smuggled across the border – many by human and sex traffickers," she stated in an email. Public opinion on the handling of immigration remains divided, with a recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll indicating that only 39% of Americans approve of Trump’s immigration policies.
Stephen Miller, a key architect of these policies, has accused the children of immigrants of draining public resources and perpetuating societal problems from their parents’ home countries. Countering this narrative, extensive research demonstrates that immigrants tend to earn more and achieve better outcomes the longer they reside in the United States. Furthermore, immigrants and their children generally assimilate rapidly, and data suggests they rely less on welfare programs than native-born Americans. Miller, however, maintains that "mass migration" imports not just individuals but entire societies, arguing that migrants and their descendants often recreate the challenging conditions of their homelands.
Recent legislative actions have further exacerbated the situation. A tax-and-spending law enacted last summer curtailed immigrant eligibility for health and food assistance programs. Additionally, new "public charge" rules issued in July grant immigration officers broad discretion to deny green cards to lawfully present immigrants if they or their family members have utilized public benefit programs. This policy shift is projected to lead to over a million U.S. citizen children disenrolling from safety net healthcare programs.
The Intergenerational Trauma of Separation and Fear
The separation of children from their parents is an inherently traumatic experience that can lead to lifelong health problems. These can include anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease, and learning difficulties. Research on children separated from their parents at the border during the first Trump administration revealed lasting trauma. Similarly, deportations and detentions of immigrant parents, or even the persistent threat of these actions, have been linked to widespread emotional trauma, increased school dropout rates, housing instability, and food insecurity among both immigrant and U.S.-born children.
The societal cost of this trauma is substantial. A 2024 study by federal researchers estimated that health conditions related to childhood trauma accounted for $292 billion in healthcare spending in 2021 alone, including costs borne by taxpayer-funded programs like Medicaid and Medicare.
The psychological impact is palpable in communities across the country. Emmanuel, a 13-year-old in Oxnard, experiences significant anxiety whenever his father leaves for his farm labor job, according to his mother, Ana. He frequently seeks reassurance that his father will return and expresses fear about what would happen to him if his parents were detained. When out in public, he urges his mother to hurry, constantly worried about the potential appearance of ICE agents. To protect their privacy due to fears of deportation, KFF Health News has withheld their full names.
Healthcare professionals have observed a marked increase in mental health issues, particularly anxiety, among children from immigrant families. Kimberly McNally, a pediatrician at Venice Family Clinic, reports regularly referring children of all ages for mental health services due to fears of parental separation. Liza Davis, advocacy director for Children in Immigrant Families at The Children’s Partnership, notes that at daycares, children have begun bringing an extra bag, anticipating the possibility that their parents might not pick them up.
In some devastating instances, this distress has led young people to take extreme actions. In June, 19-year-old Eliel José died by suicide after his father was deported from the Atlanta area to Mexico, as reported by Univision. Rosie Harrison, executive director of Grow Initiative GA, a community organization serving low-income families, has received calls from immigrant parents seeking help for children exhibiting suicidal thoughts and depression. These situations are often compounded by a lack of health insurance and the inability to afford therapy, frequently a consequence of parents losing jobs that provided health benefits due to worksite raids or eligibility changes implemented by the administration. "I’m concerned about the families that are going to be burying their child," Harrison stated. "I’m concerned that we are going to miss out on having an amazing person do amazing things for our community, for our country, because they took their life."
Resilience Amidst Adversity
Despite the profound challenges, many children are demonstrating remarkable resilience. In a reversal of traditional roles, some children have become the primary protectors of their families. They undertake responsibilities such as grocery shopping and escorting younger siblings to school to shield their parents from the need to leave the safety of their homes.
Giselle Gonzalez, a university student and volunteer with the VC Defensa immigrant protection network in Ventura County, California, recalled a summer morning when children on bicycles alerted their neighbors to the presence of ICE agents apprehending factory workers and gardeners. This vigilance highlights the community’s active role in protecting one another.
Neighbors, community groups, health providers, and other organizations have mobilized to support children and families affected by immigration enforcement. These efforts include delivering groceries, providing free therapy, accompanying children to school, and assisting parents in developing emergency childcare plans in the event of detention or deportation.
Ultimately, experts and advocates agree that more humane immigration policies and enforcement tactics are essential to mitigating the harm inflicted upon children. Researchers at Arizona State University have highlighted the Family Case Management Program, launched under President Obama, as a model for keeping families together while still enforcing immigration laws. This program allowed asylum-seeking families to remain in their communities while their cases were resolved, providing support through case managers. The program, which proved successful and cost-effective, was terminated by the first Trump administration.
At Venice Family Clinic in Los Angeles, case manager Mabel Alavez witnesses the immense pressure on families who remain together but live under the constant threat of separation. Many of these individuals are parents or grandparents who have resided in the U.S. for decades. They express fear about taking their children to school, parks, or beaches and question the safety of enrolling their U.S.-born children in Medicaid. Alavez assists families facing eviction due to their inability to work and fear of detention, often helping them create plans for their children’s care.
Having grown up in an immigrant family herself, Alavez understands the unique challenges faced by first-generation Americans navigating adolescence, education, and a sense of belonging in a country different from their parents’. "It’s hard for me to imagine how they could possibly do that in addition to what’s going on now," she said. "I do feel like there will be a big impact on them. What that might look like, I’m not exactly sure." The long-term implications of these policies on the mental, emotional, and physical health of an entire generation of children remain a critical concern for public health and child welfare experts.
