ICE Detains 500 Babies and Toddlers Under Trump Administration

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained at least 500 babies and toddlers between January 2025 and March 2026. A joint analysis by The Marshall Project and Mississippi Today found that ICE held an average of 25 children aged three or younger per day, ten times the average during the final year of the Biden administration. At least 175 of these children were held beyond the 20-day limit mandated by the Flores settlement.

Many children were housed at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas, a facility reopened by President Donald Trump. Reports from the center describe severe medical neglect, developmental delays, and inadequate nutrition, including one child hospitalized with pneumonia and COVID-19. While the private contractor CoreCivic maintains the facility provides healthy food and clean water, attorneys for the families dispute these claims.

Simultaneously, an Associated Press investigation revealed the administration has separated dozens of immigrant children from their parents for a second time, violating a landmark legal settlement. Some parents have been deported or jailed, leaving children in the United States. The Department of Homeland Security has defended these actions, stating that ICE is not targeting children or separating families.