April 28, 2026 - WASHINGTON – On Monday, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced the Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections (HELP) for Separated Children Act. The legislation would protect children affected by immigration enforcement actions or proceedings against their parents. According to a 2019 analysis, there are 7.2 million children of noncitizen parents in the United States.

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“The images of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos in his bunny hat after preschool are seared into the minds of Minnesotans. Using children as pawns to detain their parents is morally repugnant,” said Senator Smith. “This bill would put common-sense moral safeguards in place to protect children from ICE agents’ brutal tactics. Children are our most precious gift and needlessly traumatizing them in service of this Administration’s mass deportation campaign is beneath this nation’s morals.” 

“President Trump promised to go after the worst of the worst, but his immigration agenda is targeting hardworking immigrants instead,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “Innocent kids across the United States have been caught in the crossfire as their parents become targets of his Administration’s cruel immigration enforcement efforts. We must pass the HELP for Separated Children Act to require immigrant families be treated with dignity and to protect the rights of the most vulnerable among us.”

“Coloradans must be assured that ICE is subject to the same common-sense practices we expect from well-functioning local law enforcement, especially when it comes to the best interests of children,” said Senator Bennet. “The HELP for Separated Children Act will bring dignity back to families and ensure proper safeguards are in place to hold ICE accountable. We cannot allow the Trump Administration to tear families apart.” 

Since the Trump Administration began its mass-deportation operations, families and children have been targeted by ICE’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.

• Families with young children have been violently targeted by ICE officers. 
• Children have been unjustly detained alongside their parents in Texas for weeks or months.
• ICE agents have used kids to bait parents into cooperating with immigration enforcement. 
• Tactics used by the Trump Administration have violated ICE’s own Detained Parents Directive.

The Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections (HELP) for Separated Children Act would protect children affected by immigration enforcement actions or proceedings against their parents.  Specifically, the bill:

1. Allows parents to make calls and arrange for the care of their children and ensures that children can regularly call and visit their parents while they are detained; 
2. Prohibits Federal personnel from using excessive force in the arrest or apprehension of individuals while children are present, including but not limited to drawing weapons or throwing individuals to the ground, and from deceiving a child for the purposes of immigration enforcement of their parents or family members; 
3. Allows parents to participate in family court proceedings affecting their children;
4. Protects children from being compelled to serve as translators for their parents in immigration enforcement actions;
5. Ensures that parents can coordinate their departures with their children; 
6. Requires ICE to consider the best interests of children in detention, release, and transfer decisions affecting their parents; and 
7. Establishes a National Coordinator who serves as the primary point-of-contact and subject-matter expert for ICE personnel regarding child welfare and guardianship.

“Pediatricians across the country have seen first-hand how aggressive immigration enforcement actions adversely affect child health and well-being. Immigration policies must prioritize the health, safety and well-being of children and it is critical that parents impacted by immigration enforcement, not the government, are making decisions about their children’s care, which is why the American Academy of Pediatrics supports the HELP Separated Children Act. We thank Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) for their leadership on this legislation, and call on lawmakers to advance the bill and center child health and well-being in all immigration policies,” said American Academy of Pediatrics President Andrew D. Racine, MD, PhD, FAAP.

“ICE and CBP agents have repeatedly failed to abide by their own policy to uphold the rights of detained or deported parents, and it is children who have paid the price. As a result, ICE has left children and youth unattended, separated nursing mothers from newborns, and removed children who are U.S. citizens despite their parents’ wishes for them to remain in this country. With mothers and fathers being abducted and deported at an alarming rate, we need Congress to ensure that the federal government does everything in its power to protect children and enable parents to make decisions about their children’s care, including ensuring their ability to reunify with children in the state foster care system. We applaud Senator Smith for reintroducing the HELP Separated Children Act, which would codify and strengthen the ICE detained parent directive, and we call on Members of Congress to support this urgently needed bill to mitigate the harm of Trump’s mass deportation agenda on children and families,”said Wendy Chun-Hoon, executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy. 

“All children and families deserve safety and stability in their communities. Yet too often, relentless and aggressive immigration enforcement actions are fueling fear and family separation in places where children should feel most secure—at home, at school, and with their caregivers. The HELP Separated Children Act would help to advance protections for children and enhance parents’ ability to make care arrangements; Congress must pass it without delay,” said Shaina Simenas, Co-Director, Technical Assistance Program at the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights. 

“Family unity has been the bedrock of our immigration system for decades,” said Zain Lakhani, Director of Migrant Rights and Justice at the Women’s Refugee Commission. “But that principle is consistently violated, leaving parents and children in limbo without vital protections. WRC has documented systemic violations of ICE policies to prevent family separation, leaving parents and children traumatized and with few options for relief. The HELP Separated Children Act is essential legislation that would codify these protections and help give parents a path towards reunification.”

“A parent’s right to make decisions about the care of their child is sacred. Right now, immigrant parents who are detained are being cut off from the courts, agencies, and information they need to determine future care for their children. The HELP Separated Children Act is a critical step towards addressing these grave injustices, codifying essential rights and liberties, and minimizing trauma for parents and children,” said Keeli Sorensen, Director of Policy and Government Affairs at Justice in Motion.

The HELP for Separated Children Act is endorsed by the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Women’s Refugee Commission, Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, Justice in Motion, Child Welfare League of America, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), National Immigration Project, Together and Free, Center for the Study of Social Policy, MomsRising, Acacia Center for Justice, Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), First Focus Campaign for Children, National Association of Social Workers, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Education Association and Coalition on Human Needs.

Cosponsors of the bill include Senators Baldwin (D-WI), Bennet (D-CO), Blumenthal (D-CT), Duckworth (D-IL), Gillibrand (D-NY), Hirono (D-HI), Kaine (D-VA), Kim (D-NJ), Klobuchar (D-MN), Markey (D-MA), Murray (D-WA), Rosen (D-NV), Sanders (I-VT), Warren (D-MA), Welch (D-VT) and Van Hollen (D-MD). You can access text of the bill here. 

Source: Senator Tina Smith