Collaborative on Global Children's Issues

The Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues is bringing together research and cross-sector coordination to respond to child-family separation resulting from recent U.S. immigration enforcement. It is also working to protect family unity, support reunification, and mitigate harm for children and families already separated.

The rapid expansion of U.S. immigration enforcement since 2025 has created a new family separation crisis within the United States and across international borders. Estimates suggest that approximately 145,000 U.S. citizen children were separated from a parent or caregiver as a result of immigration enforcement between January 20, 2025, and April 9, 2026. Media and government reports have verified a startling number of citizen and noncitizen children who have been left in uncertain care arrangements or government custody after their parents have been detained or deported, with no clear pathway to reunification.

Family unity and the right to family life are widely recognized as fundamental aspects of life across the political spectrum and geographic regions. Their primacy is widely recognized in international agreements and conventions and embedded in U.S. legal frameworks and long-established child welfare principles. 

Responding effectively demands cross-sectoral coordination, urgent documentation, and solutions grounded in the best interests of the child and the primacy of family unity.

In collaboration with key organizations in the United States and across the region, the collaborative is working to:

• Strengthen the capacity of actors working to prevent and respond to family separation by coordinating a coalition of stakeholders and developing tools, resources, and training to support families, community-based practitioners, policymakers, and consular offices.
• Address data gaps by documenting the scale and nature of family separations to better inform tailored, effective responses.
• Document evolving developments and make recommendations for child- and family-centered responses in policy and practice.
  

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Gwendolen.