The Trump administration arrested the parents of at least 27,000 children during the first seven months of 2025, according to a Guardian analysis of government records. The data, obtained through a freedom of information lawsuit, reveals a sweeping family separation crisis that human rights advocates say will cause generational trauma.
The records from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) show that from January to August 2025, the administration arrested about 2,300 parents per month and deported 1,400 parents monthly. This is nearly double the deportation rate of the Biden administration, which deported about 700 parents per month in 2024.
Scope of the Crisis
The analysis found that 18,400 parents were arrested, including 15,000 fathers and 3,000 mothers. These parents had between 27,000 and 32,000 children. At least 12,000 of those children are U.S. citizens. In nearly 7,500 cases, fathers had a different nationality than at least one of their children, and in about 1,000 cases, mothers did. In half of these families, siblings had different citizenships.
Immigration lawyers and researchers believe the data underestimates the true number of separations, as officials often fail to ask about children or parents hide their families to protect them.
Human Toll
The separations have devastated families. One mother, identified as LT, a Haitian asylum seeker, was detained 1,500 miles from her 13-month-old daughter, who has severe allergies. The government refused to release her on bond or allow her to pump breastmilk for the infant. LT fears her child will end up in foster care.
Another mother, KO from Guatemala, was arrested at an ICE check-in and told an officer she had a 19-month-old. The officer allegedly replied that her child could die for all he cared. Herminia, a mother of three, was held for eight months, leading to her children's mental health decline, including a 16-year-old son considering dropping out of school to work.
Marco, 61, was arrested at a Home Depot in Maryland and deported to El Salvador, leaving his 17-year-old U.S. citizen son to work to support the family. Families described scrambling for funds after breadwinners were detained, and teens dropping out of school to care for siblings.
Government Response
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denied separating families, stating that parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children. A spokesperson said being in detention is a choice and encouraged parents to use a government app to self-deport. However, advocates note that many parents flee dangerous conditions and cannot risk bringing their children, leading to indefinite separations.
The Trump administration's mass deportation push has weakened protections for non-citizen parents. In some cases, officials threatened separation to coerce voluntary departure.
Comparisons to 2018
This crisis surpasses the 2018 zero-tolerance policy, which separated over 5,500 children. Kelly Kribs, an attorney at the Young Center, said the current separations are happening at an unprecedented speed and scale, causing similar trauma. She noted that once families are separated across borders, reunification can take months or years due to legal and logistical barriers.
For example, Oscar, a Honduran activist, was deported despite his family's pending asylum. He remains in hiding in Honduras, telling his children he will return soon. In another case, a Venezuelan father was deported to Mexico while his Colombian-born son stayed in the U.S., requiring a complex reunification process.
Advocates say the crisis has become normalized. Faisal Al-Juburi of Raíces said, "We have now reached the metastasis of family separation under this administration. I don't think we've even begun as a nation to grapple with the impact."
