{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.smith.senate.gov/u-s-senators-tina-smith-catherine-cortez-masto-introduce-legislation-protecting-children-harmed-by-ice-actions-against-their-parents/", "U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Catherine Cortez Masto Introduce Legislation Protecting Children Harmed by ICE Actions Against Their Parents", "2026-04-27", "2026", "2026-04", "Democrat", "Senate", "MN", "Tina Smith", "S001203", "www.smith.senate.gov", "tinasmith", "https://www.smith.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, 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.\n\n\u201cThe 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,\u201d said Senator Smith. \u201cThis bill would put common-sense moral safeguards in place to protect children from ICE agents\u2019 brutal tactics. Children are our most precious gift and needlessly traumatizing them in service of this Administration\u2019s mass deportation campaign is beneath this nation\u2019s morals.\u201d\n\n\u201cPresident Trump promised to go after the worst of the worst, but his immigration agenda is targeting hardworking immigrants instead,\u201d said Senator Cortez Masto. \u201cInnocent kids across the United States have been caught in the crossfire as their parents become targets of his Administration\u2019s 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.\u201d\n\n\u201cColoradans 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,\u201d said Senator Bennet. \u201cThe 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.\u201d\n\nSince the Trump Administration began its mass-deportation operations, families and children have been targeted by ICE\u2019s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.\n\nFamilies with young children have been violently targeted by ICE officers.\n\nChildren have been unjustly detained alongside their parents in Texas for weeks or months.\n\nICE agents have used kids to bait parents into cooperating with immigration enforcement.\n\nTactics used by the Trump Administration have violated ICE\u2019s own Detained Parents Directive.\n\nThe 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:\n\nAllows 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;\n\nProhibits 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;\n\nAllows parents to participate in family court proceedings affecting their children;\n\nProtects children from being compelled to serve as translators for their parents in immigration enforcement actions;\n\nEnsures that parents can coordinate their departures with their children;\n\nRequires ICE to consider the best interests of children in detention, release, and transfer decisions affecting their parents; and\n\nEstablishes a National Coordinator who serves as the primary point-of-contact and subject-matter expert for ICE personnel regarding child welfare and guardianship.\n\n\u201cPediatricians 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\u2019s 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,\u201d said American Academy of Pediatrics President Andrew D. Racine, MD, PhD, FAAP.\n\n\u201cICE 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\u2019 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\u2019s 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\u2019s mass deportation agenda on children and families,\u201dsaid Wendy Chun-Hoon, executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy.\n\n\u201cAll 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\u2014at home, at school, and with their caregivers. The HELP Separated Children Act would help to advance protections for children and enhance parents\u2019 ability to make care arrangements; Congress must pass it without delay,\u201d said Shaina Simenas, Co-Director, Technical Assistance Program at the Young Center for Immigrant Children\u2019s Rights.\n\n\u201cFamily unity has been the bedrock of our immigration system for decades,\u201d said Zain Lakhani, Director of Migrant Rights and Justice at the Women\u2019s Refugee Commission. \u201cBut 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.\u201d\n\n\u201cA parent\u2019s 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,\u201d said Keeli Sorensen, Director of Policy and Government Affairs at Justice in Motion.\n\nThe HELP for Separated Children Act is endorsed by the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Women\u2019s Refugee Commission, Young Center for Immigrant Children\u2019s 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.\n\nCosponsors 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). 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