What Happened
On April 6, 2026, the Marshall Project published an investigation revealing a staggering figure: the number of children in ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) custody had increased tenfold during Donald Trump's second term. Over 6,200 children were being held in federal immigration facilities across the United States, a number not seen since the worst moments of the southern border crisis.
This escalation did not happen overnight. Since January 2025, when Trump returned to the White House, a series of hardened immigration policies transformed detention centers into overcrowded holding facilities where entire families — including infants, pregnant women and school-age children — spend weeks or months awaiting decisions about their futures.
What is happening inside these facilities, who are these children and why are human rights organizations calling this a humanitarian crisis? Let us examine the facts verified by multiple journalistic sources.
Context and Background
The South Texas Family Residential Center, located in Dilley, Texas, has become the most visible symbol of this crisis. The facility, operated by private company CoreCivic, is the largest family detention center in the United States and has been the destination for thousands of immigrant families since the start of the second term.
Dilley is not a prison in the traditional sense, but the families held there describe conditions that closely resemble one. Barbed wire fences, armed guards, rigid schedules and extremely limited freedom of movement are part of daily life for parents and children who, in many cases, fled violence and persecution in their home countries.
AP News documented the story of a 13-year-old Colombian girl who, during her detention at Dilley, made drawings depicting her experience. The drawings showed fences, guards and sad faces — a disturbing window into the psychological impact that detention has on developing children. This girl, whose name was withheld for protection purposes, spent weeks at the center before her case was processed.
Protests outside the Dilley facility on January 28, 2026 brought together hundreds of activists, immigration lawyers and relatives of detainees. Signs demanded an end to child detention and the implementation of humanitarian alternatives. The demonstration was one of the largest ever held outside a family detention center in the United States.
One of the most disturbing dimensions of this crisis involves pregnant, postpartum and nursing women. According to data obtained by GovExec and published in March 2026, between January 2025 and February 2026, 363 pregnant, postpartum or nursing immigrants were deported from the United States.
During that same period, 16 miscarriages were recorded among women in ICE custody or during the deportation process. Medical and human rights organizations argue that the stress of detention, inadequate prenatal care conditions and the trauma of deportation directly contribute to these pregnancy losses.
The numbers raise serious questions about compliance with medical protocols within the detention system. Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Physicians for Human Rights have pushed for independent audits of medical conditions in detention centers, arguing that the lack of adequate care for pregnant women constitutes a violation of fundamental rights.
The case of nursing mothers is particularly complex. Mothers who are breastfeeding and are separated from their babies face not only the emotional trauma of separation but also physical complications such as mastitis and abrupt cessation of lactation, which can affect both the mother's health and the baby's nutrition.
A case that gained international attention was reported by the Jerusalem Post and involves an 18-month-old girl who was detained along with her family. According to the report, after being hospitalized for a medical condition, the child was returned to ICE custody where she was denied the medication prescribed by the hospital.
This case illustrates a recurring concern raised by immigration lawyers and healthcare professionals: the disconnect between the healthcare system and the immigration detention system. When sick children are held in detention centers without adequate access to medications and medical follow-up, health risks multiply exponentially.
Pediatricians working with immigrant populations have warned that young children are especially vulnerable in detention environments. Their still-developing immune systems, combined with the stress of separation and confinement conditions, create a scenario conducive to the worsening of existing health conditions and the emergence of new illnesses.
The tenfold increase in detained children is not accidental. It reflects a series of deliberate policy decisions made since the beginning of Trump's second term in January 2025. Among the key measures that contributed to this escalation are the expansion of ICE apprehension operations in urban areas, the elimination of alternative monitoring programs that allowed families to await their proceedings at liberty, the tightening of asylum criteria and the acceleration of deportation processes with fewer procedural safeguards.
Supporters of the policy argue that firm measures are necessary to discourage irregular immigration and protect American borders. Critics, on the other hand, point out that mass detention of families and children is disproportionately expensive, ineffective as a deterrent and causes irreparable harm to vulnerable populations.
The financial cost of family detention is also significant. It is estimated that keeping a family in a detention center costs the federal government between 300 and 800 dollars per person per day, depending on the facility. With over 6,200 children detained, plus their family members, annual costs reach hundreds of millions of dollars — resources that critics argue could be better used for integration and community monitoring programs.
Impact on the Population
| Aspect | Previous Situation | Current Situation | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scale | Limited | Global | High |
| Duration | Short-term | Medium/long-term | Significant |
| Reach | Regional | International | Broad |
Decades of research in child psychology and neuroscience demonstrate that detention has profound and lasting effects on children's development. Toxic stress caused by family separation and confinement can alter developing brain architecture, affecting areas responsible for emotional regulation, memory and learning.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has repeatedly spoken out against the detention of immigrant children, stating that "no child should be held in immigration detention" and that "detention causes irreparable harm to children's physical and mental health." Longitudinal studies of children who have experienced immigration detention show elevated rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and social adaptation difficulties years after the experience.
The drawings by the 13-year-old Colombian girl documented by AP News are a tangible example of this impact. Through art, children often express traumas they cannot verbalize, and the recurring themes of confinement, fear and separation in the drawings of detained children are consistent with findings in the scientific literature on childhood trauma.
Immigration policy experts point out that there are proven effective alternatives to family detention. Community monitoring programs, in which families await their proceedings at liberty with regular check-ins, have hearing attendance rates above 90 percent — comparable to or higher than detention rates.
The Family Case Management program, implemented during the Obama administration and later discontinued, demonstrated that families accompanied by social workers attended 99 percent of their immigration hearings, at a fraction of the cost of detention. Organizations such as the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops offer similar programs combining social support with monitoring.
Electronic ankle monitors, regular check-ins with immigration officials and community hosting programs are other alternatives that various countries use successfully. Sweden, Canada and Australia, for example, have adopted models that prioritize alternatives to detention for families with children, reserving detention only for exceptional cases.
What the Key Players Are Saying
While public debate focuses on detained immigrant children, there is an even broader dimension to this crisis affecting American citizens. According to a WUSF investigation published on March 24, 2026, in the first seven months of Trump's second term, the parents of at least 11,000 children who are US citizens were arrested by ICE.
These children, born in the United States and therefore full citizens with all constitutional rights, watched their parents being taken from homes, workplaces or routine traffic stops. In many cases, the children were left in the care of neighbors, distant relatives or, in the worst scenarios, entered the foster care system.
The psychological impact on these children is devastating. Previous studies have demonstrated that forced parent-child separation causes trauma comparable to experiences of war or natural disasters. Anxiety, depression, learning difficulties and behavioral problems are consequences documented by child psychologists working with affected families.
The situation creates a legal and moral paradox: American children are being effectively punished for their parents' immigration status, even though they themselves were born in the country and have no documentation irregularities whatsoever.
The international community has reacted with growing concern to the situation of detained children in the United States. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UNICEF have issued statements calling on the United States to adopt alternatives to child detention, in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have published detailed reports documenting conditions in detention centers and calling for independent investigations. Governments of Latin American countries, whose citizens make up the majority of detainees, have also expressed concern through diplomatic channels.
International pressure, combined with domestic lawsuits filed by organizations such as the ACLU and the National Immigrant Justice Center, has created a scenario of increasing scrutiny over ICE detention practices. However, to date, the Trump administration's policies have shown no signs of softening.
With midterm elections approaching and growing pressure from human rights organizations, courts and the international community, the issue of immigrant child detention is expected to remain at the center of American political debate.
Ongoing lawsuits challenge the legality of various aspects of detention policies, and federal court decisions may force changes in ICE practices. At the same time, the Trump administration has demonstrated willingness to resist court orders and external pressures on immigration matters.
For the more than 6,200 children currently detained and the 11,000 American children whose parents have been arrested, the future remains uncertain. Each day of detention adds layers of trauma and legal complications that may take years to resolve — if they are ever fully overcome.
The legal battle over child detention has intensified in federal courts across the United States. Multiple lawsuits filed by the ACLU, the National Immigrant Justice Center and other organizations challenge the constitutionality of prolonged child detention and the conditions within detention facilities.
The Flores Settlement Agreement, a landmark 1997 court order that established standards for the treatment of children in immigration custody, remains a central point of contention. The agreement requires that children be held in the "least restrictive" conditions possible and be released "without unnecessary delay." Advocates argue that the current detention practices violate both the letter and spirit of this agreement.
Federal judges in several jurisdictions have issued orders requiring improvements in detention conditions, including access to medical care, education and recreation for detained children. However, compliance with these orders has been inconsistent, and enforcement mechanisms remain limited.
The Supreme Court has yet to rule definitively on the constitutionality of prolonged family detention under the current administration's policies. Legal experts anticipate that the issue will eventually reach the highest court, potentially setting precedents that will shape immigration policy for decades to come.
