Support the HELP Separated Children Act
By Wendy Cervantes
For over a decade, ICE’s parental interest directive has served as an important tool to ensure that parents impacted by ICE enforcement actions are able to make decisions about their children’s care. First implemented following significant advocacy from racial justice, children, and immigrant rights groups in 2013, the policy is intended to ensure that ICE’s enforcement actions do not unnecessarily infringe upon the legal parental or guardianship rights of individuals facing detention and deportation. In July 2025, Trump’s ICE issued a new “detained parent directive,” replacing the policy with similar but ultimately weaker protections for families.
In response to Trump’s weakening of parental protections, Congress must act to protect children and mitigate the harms of interior enforcement. The HELP Separated Children Act would help do that.