3,800 Children Behind Bars - America’s New Reality

At least 3,800 children have been taken into custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term. Behind this number are children who were taken from their homes at night or detained during enforcement operations - often without understanding what was happening. Many had lived in the country for years, attended school, had friends, and a stable environment.

The measures no longer affect only those newly arriving at the border. They also include long term residents, families with pending cases, and asylum seekers. Raids are carried out in part without individual judicial warrants. In court, it is repeatedly argued that arrests are justified in blanket fashion and that detention decisions are not sufficiently reviewed. At the same time, investigations reveal overcrowded facilities, limited access to legal counsel, and conditions that are barely defensible for minors.

The political line is clear: maximum enforcement, rapid detention, broadly interpreted authority for ICE and Border Patrol. Critics speak of systematic violations of law and of a practice that exceeds constitutional limits. Several measures have already been halted or temporarily suspended, and further proceedings are pending. The legal battle is moving at full speed.

3,800 children in detention do not stand for administration - they stand for shattered security. It is the expression of an immigration policy that relies on deterrence and in doing so reaches deeply into family structures. The coming months will show whether the courts will draw lasting limits to this course - or whether it will continue to harden. Until then, fighting also remains on our agenda, because lines have been crossed here that go far beyond the authority of a state governed by the rule of law.