‘All children deserve to grow up in safe communities’: CDF demands Congress stop funding for family-disrupting tactics.
For Immediate Release: February 4, 2026
Media Contact: John Henry, JHenry@childrensdefense.org, CDF Media Relations Manager, @johnhenrydc, 708-646-7679
WASHINGTON, D.C.–Following Congress’ decision on Tuesday to provide a two-week funding extension for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the national child advocacy organization Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) calls on lawmakers to negotiate a deal that would permanently curb the department’s ongoing brutal tactics impacting children and youth nationwide.
Over the last month, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), both under DHS jurisdiction, have shot at least four people in the United States, including two separate incidents that resulted in the deaths of Minneapolis residents Renée Good and Alex Pretti. The department’s increased activity in Minnesota has brought more than 3,000 federal immigration agents to that state alone. The number of children in ICE detention has skyrocketed to an average of 170 per day, according to The Marshall Project, and at least 3,800 children have been held in immigration detention in the year since President Trump was inaugurated.
CDF President & CEO Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson said federal agents’ actions have terrorized numerous communities, including the children who should be free to play in them. He said the department should not receive increased funding when its actions continue to harm the well-being of young people.
“Across the nation, the well-being of our children is being threatened by the harmful actions of the Trump administration, which are neither just nor holy,” Dr. Wilson said. “When parents fear immigration detention and refuse to take their children to school, the doctor, or out to play, our babies are robbed of routines that contribute to their healthy development. When armed agents are sent into our communities and youth are forced to make sense of a never-ending news cycle of violence and death at the hands of a government meant to uplift them and ensure their safety, our children are traumatized. These aren’t isolated actions in Minnesota, Oregon, or Texas. And while our hearts are with Liam Ramos and his family as they grapple with the aftermath of having been detained, we recognize that this is also bigger than one child and one family.”
“This is a coordinated attack on young people’s ability to thrive, and it exacerbates challenges for those already facing systemic barriers. Our lawmakers must be held accountable and stop funding the militarization of our communities.”
CDF has maintained this position over the past year in response to the Trump administration’s increased deployment of federal immigration agents across the country, including in federal court. In November, CDF’s New York Office filed an amicus brief urging a federal court to release a New York City Ecuadorian teen from an immigrant detention facility. And last month, CDF-Minnesota filed an amicus curiae brief urging a judge to pause Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, citing the fear, trauma, and disruption it has caused for youth in the Twin Cities area.
“These harms fall disproportionately on children of color and are intensified for children already exposed to community violence and structural inequities,” the Minnesota brief read.
Unfortunately, the judge in that case declined to pause the department’s activities, even though other federal judges found that Minnesota children, including 5-year-old Liam Ramos, were harmed by the actions of federal agents. Immigration agents detained Ramos and his father in Minnesota in January. They were held at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, until U.S. District Judge Fred Biery of the Western District of Texas ordered their release just days ago, criticizing DHS’ efforts as an “ill-conceived” act “traumatizing children.” Most recently, the Trump administration has appealed the release of Liam and his father, despite their ongoing case for asylum, an action CDF strongly condemns as unlawful and unjust.
Children’s Defense Fund stands against incarcerating children under any circumstances, and we oppose the harmful political decisions emanating from the Trump administration meant to divide our nation and thwart progress.