Over 145,000 US Children Separated From Parents Since Trump’s ICE Surge, Study Estimates

More than 145,000 US children have probably experienced a parent being detained by immigration authorities since the start of Donald Trump’s second presidency, according to a new report published by a reputed US think tank.

The report, released on Monday by the Brookings Institution, estimates that about 146,635 children who are US citizens have had a parent detained during the mass deportation campaign the Trump administration embarked on after he retook office in early January. The study further found that of those children, more than 22,000 experienced the detention of all of their co-resident parents.

In March, a report by the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) found that the Trump administration deported many immigrant parents without asking whether they had children or allowing them to decide if their children would accompany them.