Lead

More than 145,000 American children have likely experienced the detention of a parent by immigration authorities since President Donald Trump began his second term in January, according to a new report from the Brookings Institution. The analysis, released Monday, estimates that roughly 200,000 children in total — including about 145,000 who are US citizens — have had a parent detained in connection with the administration's mass deportation campaign.

The Brookings figure is based on census data and government records, and the think tank cautions that the actual number could be somewhat higher or lower. The report also found that more than 22,000 US citizen children experienced the detention of all co-resident parents, and roughly 36% of affected children were younger than six.

Coverage Comparison

The Brookings report has drawn attention from multiple outlets, though their coverage has varied in emphasis and detail. The Guardian highlighted the overall scale — more than 145,000 US citizen children — and noted that the government's own figures likely represent a substantial undercount. ProPublica, which conducted its own independent investigation, reported the Brookings estimate while also pointing to its own more conservative findings based on government data obtained through a public records lawsuit.

Both outlets noted that the administration does not systematically track family separations caused by detention, making precise counts difficult. ProPublica's reporting, which was cited by Brookings, found that at least 11,000 American children had a parent detained in the first seven months of Trump's second term — a figure ProPublica described as "almost certainly" an undercount.

Key Claims

  • Scale of impact: The Brookings Institution estimates that more than 145,000 US citizen children have had a parent detained since January. ProPublica's own analysis, based on government data, put the number at over 100,000, with its direct count reaching at least 11,000 in the first seven months.
  • Total detentions: Brookings noted that roughly 400,000 people have been detained by immigration agents since Trump returned to office.
  • Family composition: The largest share of US citizen children with a detained parent are linked to Mexico, accounting for nearly 54%. Children with parents from Guatemala and Honduras together make up more than 25%.
  • Geographic distribution: Washington DC and Texas have the highest share of American children with an affected parent, with more than five per 1,000 children facing parental immigration detention.
  • Enforcement pace: The Guardian reported earlier that the Trump administration arrested about 2,300 parents and deported about 1,400 parents each month in 2025 — nearly double the monthly deportation rate recorded in 2024 under President Joe Biden. ProPublica separately reported that Trump has been deporting about four times as many mothers of American children per day as Biden did.

Perspectives

Brookings Institution: The report argues that the Department of Homeland Security's own figure of 18,277 detainees with US citizen children in fiscal year 2025 is "almost certainly a substantial undercount," pointing to anecdotal evidence and limitations in how the government collects data.

ProPublica: The investigative outlet emphasizes the hidden nature of these separations, noting that families are being split up in ways that are "more dispersed, more hidden and harder to track." Its analysis relies on detainees self-reporting whether they have children, which likely leads to undercounting.

The Guardian: Earlier reporting by The Guardian found that the arrest of about 18,400 parents had affected as many as 32,000 children in the first seven months of 2025 alone, including at least 12,000 US citizen children. The Guardian has framed the issue as part of a "hardline" immigration enforcement strategy.

Immigrant advocacy groups: While not directly quoted in the provided excerpts, civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups have criticized the enforcement approach, particularly its impact on young children.

Context

During Trump's first administration, a policy of family separation at the US-Mexico border drew widespread outrage and was eventually ended. The current separations, however, are happening not at the border but during immigration sweeps across the country, making them less visible to the public. The Brookings report and ProPublica's investigation both suggest that the true number of affected children is likely higher than documented, as the administration does not track these separations systematically.