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Family separation often leads to PTSD, anxiety, depression, and reduced life expectancy in detained children.

Child welfare, juvenile justice, and immigration enforcement separate families under the guise of safety.

Mental health providers legitimize detention by treating children in settings that cause psychological harm.

The image of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos standing at the knees of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, dressed in a blue bunny snow hat and a Spiderman backpack, recently spurred national outrage.

Liam and his father were taken into custody in their Minneapolis suburb shortly after arriving home on January 20, 2026. Both were sent to a detention facility in Texas. According to their attorney, Liam and his family entered the United States legally, seeking asylum, and were detained unlawfully.

The health effects of family separation are immense. Children face increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, heart disease, and shortened life expectancy. But the consequences extend beyond those detained.

Watching other children disappear devastates communities. Concerns about deportation affect healthcare utilization and school attendance, worsening health and learning outcomes.

Last year, 11-year-old Jocelynn Rojo Carranza endured bullying about her family’s immigration status. Her family reported that classmates threatened to call immigration authorities on her parents. She subsequently died by suicide.

Family Separation Is Systemic

As a child psychiatrist committed to health equity, I recognize that family separation is systemic and that its harm extends far beyond immigration enforcement.

Child welfare, foster care, and juvenile justice follow the same logic—separating families in the name of safety. In practice, though, they often end up causing predictable harm through separation, surveillance, and displacement that land hardest on Black and Brown........

© Psychology Today