(PLEASE NOTE: This article preserves all original facts, quotes, and the https://www.ice.gov/detention-management link exactly as provided.)
Pediatricians and leading health groups are urging the federal government to stop separating migrant families and to end family detention, warning that children are getting hurt now as these practices resurface. As detention centers reopen and expand in 2025, the Biden administration and Congress are weighing proposals that could raise detention funding by 800% compared with fiscal year 2024, including a proposed $45 billion allocation for facilities. Doctors say the renewed push has triggered “Family Separation 2.0,” a return to policies that cause trauma similar to the 2018 “zero tolerance” era.
Medical groups—including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Medical Association (AMA)—have issued joint statements from 2023 to 2025 calling on federal leaders to keep families together. They state plainly that detention is never safe for children and that separation causes deep, lasting harm. Their warnings are aimed at both policymakers and the public as debates over border enforcement and budgets intensify in Washington.
Medical community’s warning
The evidence, pediatricians say, is overwhelming. Studies and field interviews from 2015 to 2019, reaffirmed in 2025, document severe behavioral regressions in detained children: anxiety, depression, suicidality, sleep problems, bed-wetting, and developmental delays.
Medical care inside facilities is often inconsistent or inadequate, which can make children sicker rather than better. Detention is never in the best interest of the child, pediatricians repeat, pointing to the toxic stress that disrupts brain development and health across a lifetime.
Doctors describe detention sites as prison-like settings with rules and routines that strip parents of authority. Families report constant fear and uncertainty. Pediatricians link these conditions to toxic stress, a long-term stress response that can alter how the brain and body grow.
When parents are separated from children, the harm is sharper: children lose their main source of comfort and protection, and parents cannot safely care for them. Pediatric leaders say the damage can last into adulthood.
“Family Separation 2.0” is the label many health professionals use to describe today’s climate, arguing that stepped-up immigration raids and detention practices are once again tearing families apart.
They compare the current moment to 2018, when President Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy sparked widespread separations at the southern border. While an executive order on June 20, 2018 halted that specific policy, family detention continued, and separations have reappeared in recent years under new enforcement practices. Courts have ruled wide-scale family separation unconstitutional, yet advocates say enforcement practices still place children at risk.
In 2025, family detention centers have reopened and expanded. Proposals under consideration would raise adult and family detention funding by 800% over 2024 and set aside $45 billion for detention facilities. Pediatricians warn this scale could lead to longer—and possibly indefinite—detention of children alongside their parents.
Stakeholder positions
- American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Leads calls to end family detention and separation, arguing child health and safety must come first.
- American Medical Association (AMA): Has urged federal officials to abandon efforts to detain families in ICE facilities, citing health risks to children and parents.
- Some government officials: Defend detention as necessary for immigration enforcement.
- Advocates and many families: Report fear, trauma, and push for alternatives that keep families together and provide steady healthcare.
How the system works today
- Apprehension: Families who cross the border are stopped by Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
- Detention or release: Families may be held together in family residential centers or separated if agents decide it is necessary.
- Processing: Parents face immigration proceedings; if separated, children may be placed in detention or foster care.
- Healthcare: Medical and mental health services vary widely and often do not meet children’s needs.
- Reunification: Bringing separated families back together is slow and confusing because there is no strong, centralized tracking system.
- Court: Families attend immigration hearings, often with limited access to legal help.
Conditions on the ground worry doctors and humanitarian teams. A lack of consistent medical care can turn manageable conditions into emergencies. Children with asthma, diabetes, or trauma-related symptoms need steady treatment—not irregular visits. Pediatricians say the stress of confinement also harms school progress and language development.
Legal and human rights concerns remain central. Courts have found family separation unconstitutional, yet enforcement choices still risk splitting families or holding them for long stretches. Some in Congress argue that more detention will deter unlawful crossings. Others, including medical groups, argue that alternatives to detention—like community-based case management—are safer for children and cost less over time.
According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, expanding detention funding on the scale now discussed could:
- Raise capacity and length of stays
- Increase pressure on already thin medical services inside facilities
For official information about detention policy and facilities, readers can review the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention management page on the Department of Homeland Security site: https://www.ice.gov/detention-management.
Health impacts and family dynamics
Pediatricians stress the ripple effects when children are separated or confined. Reported impacts include:
- School-age children: nightmares, panic attacks, deep sadness
- Toddlers: clinginess, feeding issues
- Babies: sleep and bonding problems
- Parents: Struggle to comfort children while themselves traumatized by violence or poverty from home countries
Doctors emphasize these harms are predictable and preventable if families are kept together in safe, community-based programs.
Budget stakes and possible outcomes
Budget decisions in late 2025 will shape what happens next:
- If Congress approves large funding boosts (e.g., the proposed $45 billion), the system will likely:
- Expand the number of beds in family centers
- Extend average stays
- Result in more children living for months in high-stress environments
- If lawmakers cut or redirect funds, agencies may rely more on alternatives to detention, including:
- Supervised release
- Case management that helps families attend court without being locked up
The debate is not just about dollars; it concerns the kind of immigration system the country chooses. President Biden faces pressure from both sides: officials seeking tougher enforcement and health leaders warning that the current path will hurt children.
Pediatricians’ core message is clear: there is no safe way to detain a child and no humane way to separate a family. They call on the federal government to:
- Keep families together
- Invest in trauma-informed care
- Build a system that treats children as children first
The medical message: detention and separation carry predictable harm. Pediatricians are asking lawmakers to listen to science, center family unity, and act now to prevent a new generation of avoidable trauma.
This Article in a Nutshell
Pediatricians warn that reopened 2025 family detention risks repeat trauma from “Family Separation 2.0.” Medical groups urge Congress to reject proposed funding increases, including $45 billion for facilities, and invest in community-based alternatives to protect children’s health and prevent lifelong harm from toxic stress and prolonged confinement.
