A Guardian analysis of US government records has revealed that the Trump administration arrested the parents of at least 27,000 children during the first seven months of 2025. The data, obtained through a freedom of information lawsuit, shows that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was deporting about twice as many parents each month compared to 2024.
The records, from I-213 forms filled out by immigration agents, document the number and nationalities of minor children of those arrested. In thousands of cases, parents had a different citizenship or nationality than their children, creating legal and logistical barriers to keeping families together. The administration arrested at least 12,000 parents of US citizen children.
On average, the Trump administration arrested about 2,300 parents per month and deported 1,400 per month. In contrast, the Biden administration deported about 700 parents per month in 2024. Human rights advocates say this represents a new family separation crisis far surpassing the scale of the first Trump administration's 'zero tolerance' policy.
One case highlighted is that of LT, a Haitian asylum seeker who was detained 1,500 miles from her 13-month-old daughter. The government refused to release her on bond and denied requests for her to pump breastmilk or have her child brought to the detention centre. Immigration lawyers and researchers believe the data likely underestimates the number of separations, as officials often fail to ask about children.
Faisal Al-Juburi of the legal aid non-profit Raíces said the separations will have 'generational, transnational reverberations'. He added: 'I don't think we've even begun as a nation to grapple with the impact of this type of immigration enforcement.'
