Storyline
Family Separations from Immigration Enforcement
Immigration enforcement actions under the Trump administration and UK refugee policies are separating hundreds of thousands of children from their parents. Reports from the Brookings Institution and British Red Cross document the scale of family separations occurring through ICE detentions, deportations, and suspended family reunion programs.
This is a long-running storyline that has developed over 13 days. The homepage highlights its most recent activity, so the outlet count there reflects the latest wave. The totals above cover the full run.
Trump administrationICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)Brookings InstitutionBritish Red CrossUnited States
2026-05-31
2026-05-30
2026-05-29
- Lone children held at UK-run detention centres in France 284 times last year
- Teen released by ICE wants to stay in U.S.: "Doing the right things"
- City Agency Abused Emergency Power to Separate Children from Their Parents, Lawsuit Alleges
- Chicago teen detained by ICE, taken to 6 states, describes arrest: "They didn't tell me why"
- Inside a taxpayer-funded treatment center for adoptees, tales of abuse, neglect and little oversight
- New York City sued over alleged racial discrimination in removal of children by protective services
2026-05-27
- Cubans deported to Mexico vulnerable to violence: Human Rights Watch
- Young asylum seekers far more likely to be assessed as adults by immigration officers than by social workers
- 'Easily discarded': Processing delays leave DACA recipients jobless and fearing deportation
- 'Easily discarded': Processing delays leave DACA recipients jobless and fearing deportation
- U.S. Lawmakers Demand Reforms to Immigration Officers’ Use of Tear Gas and Pepper Spray
2026-05-23
2026-05-22
2026-05-18
- More Than 100,000 American Kids Have Had a Parent Detained in Immigration Sweeps, Report Estimates
- Over 145,000 US children separated from parents since Trump’s ICE surge, study estimates
- More than 100K children separated from parents during Trump immigration crackdown: Report
- Hundreds of children affected by UK’s halting of refugee family reunion, says Red Cross