Increasing rates of youths entering foster care after a parent or guardian is detained by immigration agents
On February 10th, 2026, reporter Jackie Llanos covered a story on the increasing rates of children whose families have been detained by Immigration Services entering foster care. Across seven states, officials told News of the United States (NOTUS) reporters that at least 32 children that they know of had been placed in foster care after their parental guardian(s) were detained or deported. This count included children from Kentucky, Maryland, Idaho, Virginia, and Vermont. Among these 32 children are four toddlers who have been in Vermont state custody for more than 3 months, according to the Vermont Department for Children and Families. With around 71,000 immigrants currently detained by the federal government, the separation of families is becoming all too common. The federal government also has no way of tracking which youths have been placed in DCYF custody after a parent or guardian is detained or deported. Reporters at NOTUS gathered data by requesting numbers from all 50 states. Without proper documentation of children separated from a detained parent, advocates are raising concerns for child welfare. Shaina Simenas, the co-director of the technical assistance program at the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, gave a statement on concerns. Simenas argues, “It’s just really hard to understand without even knowing how many parents are being detained and separated from their children to then know what happens to their children afterwards”. Simenas also told reporters that family separations are kept under wraps in comparison to the first Trump Administration, when outlets were widely reporting the cries and outrage from families.
Organizations like the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights aid social workers who are working with children whose parents have been detained. They provide them with skills and resources to help youths navigate the complex and unstable immigration system. If possible, the goal is to help children eventually unite with their detained or deported parent. Simenas states, “We worked with families who were separated before under the first Trump administration and have experienced now a second family separation due to internal enforcement.” According to the Migration Policy Institute, over 6 million children, 5.3 million of whom are U.S. citizens, are at risk of losing one or more parents over immigration status. Officials from Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, Vermont, and Virginia cited at least one case where a child had been separated from a parent after said parent’s detention. However, five of these states would not provide a specific number of incidents due to privacy concerns. 11 states had no formal records, as they didn’t track whether immigration enforcement was the reason a child ended up in their care. States such as Alaska, Hawaii, and three others had no formal cases to cite at the time of the article’s publication. Minnesota’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families stated that children of parents in detention were placed with other relatives or family friends. Minnesota has been hit particularly hard by immigration raids, with two recorded incidents of immigration agents fatally shooting U.S. citizens. The administration has stated that “Operation Metro Surge” has led to over 4,000 arrests of individuals suspected of being undocumented. Minnesota even cited a case from 2025, where a Minnesota child had entered into the state’s care after their parent was detained. However, according to a 2025 ICE directive, federal agents are required to accommodate parents who are detained, allowing them to make arrangements for their children to be picked up safely. If the child has no other arrangements or there are signs of clear abuse, then an agent should contact local child welfare agencies. Despite this official order, federal agents are detaining children with their parents. According to the Marshall Project, on average, 170 kids are placed in detention with their parents each day. The Department of Homeland Security and ICE, declined to answer questions regarding the children of detainees being placed in state care. Tricia McLaughlin, the DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, who has since stepped down from the position, states, “ICE does NOT separate families. Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates”. In 2022, the Federal Administration for Children and Families (AFC) began requiring immigration enforcement agencies to report children who entered the system from the detention of a guardian. However, states are not consistent in reporting with the most recent data coming from 2024.They found that 162 children had entered foster care from October 2023 to September 2024. The data remains somewhat unreliable, as it’s up to states to mandate reporting and training social workers on identifying cases.
Kurt Heisler, who previously worked in the AFC and is now the founder of ChildMetrix, a child welfare data analytics company, also gave a comment on the matter. Heisler states, “It takes a few years for the data to start rolling in any really reliable way, so even if I looked at the counts of kids with that circumstance identified, I wouldn’t trust it… It would be an undercount.” Helsier also shares fears around the weaponization of tracking kids of these cases in foster care. “I am concerned that it is now hazardous to have data like this because of how the current administration is using data to find families that they want to deport or detain,” Heisler stated. Simeanos also brought up a similar point, citing cases of child welfare agencies calling ICE on foster children and targeting families. In June of 2025, a child welfare agency turned a 17-year-old boy over to ICE. Senior Attorney Melissa Adamson with the National Center for Youth Law also agrees with the need for youth privacy protections. Adamson serves on a legal team ensuring the federal government enforces a settlement that bars authorities from detaining immigrant children in unlicensed facilities for more than 20 days. According to The Marshall Project’s findings, over 1,300 children have been held in detention longer than 20 days this year. States like Oregon have created their own internal tracking systems to broadcast these numbers. Despite these efforts, data is still patchy due to certain factors, including children just being taken in because another guardian was not present. With the increasing presence of federal agents, reporting these cases is crucial.
See More at https://www.notus.org/immigration/immigrant-detention-deportation-foster-care-data
Outdoor adventures help at risk youth build skills in Rhode Island program
On March 18th, 2026 reporter Nicole Moeder with NBC 10 News gave a report on an opportunity that gives at-risk youth boys in Rhode Island a chance to ski. Many individuals are familiar with or have gone skiing as it is an essential part of New England’s experiences. Many children, such as those in Rhode Island’s training school system, do not have the opportunity to try the New England pastime. Ken Rusko, founder of Experience, Confidence, Opportunity (ECO), works to address the opportunity gap for those at-risk youth. Rusko had focused on the kids aging out of the system and those entering the system as well. “I figured ECO would be a good opportunity to train them to run diversion programs for the kids entering the system.” Rusko said. The nonprofit program works with young people in training schools, foster care, and group homes across Rhode Island. Participants for this program are recruited through Ocean Tides, which is a program that serves at-risk adolescent boys. When boys age out of Ocean Tides, they can join the ECO’s Council of Leadership where they will be trained in numerous activities like skiing, scuba diving, surfing, and rock climbing.
Then, as leaders they mentor younger kids in the diversion programs. Rusko mentions that “Most of the kids have had interactions with the legal system and what I’ve noticed is they all have no confidence. They’re all scared of everything. They’re hopeless.” However, that began to change once they were in the program, the boys started to figure out what they are capable of and what they can accomplish finding their true sense of self. Rusko mentioned that it is intriguing to watch the boys figure out they are in charge of their own path, and their confidence escalates and they show up for themselves better. One of the participants, Jacob, experienced this transformation while enduring Killington Mountain. Jacob shared that he was afraid in the beginning because of his fear of heights. “Getting on the lifts was one of the hardest parts,” Jacob said. Rusko informed Jacob that having that fear is normal and the first day is always anxiety ridden but no different than anybody else, we are all human, “skiing brings us all together” he said. Jacob was able to push through with the encouragement from Rusko, and now he can not get enough of skiing.
Jacob’s aunt Tasha said the difference in him was clear. She said the program had shown “Jacob that it’s a really big world out there.” “He doesn’t have to be a small fish,” she said. Jacob was able to grow using his leadership skills with swimming, lifeguarding, and more. Tasha also stated that the program had a major impact on her nephew Jacob. “Ken’s opening these kids’ eyes to opportunities that they would have never had,” she said. “Jacob would never have seen Vermont if it wasn’t for Ken. Jacob now has something to look forward to, and a reason to choose a different path. “ I don’t want to get into fights at school because I got a skiing trip that I want to go on,” Jacob stated. This program was also more of a personal mission for Rusko as he grew up in Providence and similar experiences had changed his life. Rusko referred to his childhood and how he was able to move forward from the encouraging words and confidence he obtained from skiing with his stepfather. “What I was giving to the people I was teaching is exactly the thing that these kids are missing,” he said. Rusko credited the Killington community for embracing the program. Ken Rusko said he hopes to eventually have 120 young people running diversion programs across Rhode Island. Individuals who want to donate can go to ECODonations.
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