Arizona Children Caught in Consequences of Immigration Detention  

A new analysis from the Brookings Institute estimates that more than 145,000 U.S. citizen children have experienced the detention of a parent since the beginning of the Trump administration’s expanded immigration enforcement efforts.  

The research highlights a reality that is often missing from national immigration debates: Children are deeply affected when parents are detained, even when those children are U.S. citizens.  

Brookings estimates that roughly 205,000 children nationally have experienced parental detention since January 2025, including more than 22,000 children for whom all parents living in the household were detained. More than one-third of affected children were under the age of 6, meaning tens of thousands of infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children have experienced the trauma of parental detention during critical stages of emotional and brain development.  

In Arizona, approximately 3.23 children per 1,000 children statewide have been affected, according to Brookings’ state-level estimates. That places Arizona among the states experiencing significant ripple effects from immigration detention polices, especially given the state’s large mixed-status families and longstanding ties to immigrant communities.  

To put this in perspective, Brookings’ estimates suggest that roughly 1 in every 310 children in Arizona, about 5,100 children statewide, has already experienced the detention of a parent during the administration’s expanded immigration enforcement efforts.  

Even relatively small increases in immigration detention can ripple across Arizona classrooms, child care centers, neighborhoods, and local economies.  

Research consistently shows that family separation and immigration detention can have serious consequences for children’s mental health, educational outcomes, and long-term stability. Studies have linked immigration enforcement exposure to increased rates of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, school absenteeism, and developmental challenges for children.  

Families also can experience sudden financial instability when a parent is detained or deported. Housing insecurity, food hardship, and interruptions in caregiving often follow. Researchers at Arizona State University’s Center for Child Well-Being notes that family separation can disrupt children’s development and create lasting economic and social stress for households.  

For Arizona communities, these impacts extend beyond individual households. Schools, health care providers, social service systems, and local economies all feel the strain when children experience immigration enforcement. Even the fear of detention can shape daily life for children in mixed-status families, leading to chronic stress and disengagement from school and community life.  

As immigration enforcement continues to expand nationally, policymakers should not ignore the broader consequences for children and families. Policy makers should reject funding for ICE as part of reconciliation. Data and research make clear that detention policies do not affect individuals in isolation. They affect entire households, including thousands of children here in Arizona.