The Mental Toll of ICE On Children: An Urgent Need For Policy Reform
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
Written By: Daisy Draper
Migrant Detention Facilities Are a Humanitarian Crisis
The murder of Renee Nicole Good by officer Jonathon Ross, which left two children without their mother, is a clear example of the profound harm of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on our youth. It’s nothing new that ICE has a documented history of separating children from their families. Whether they are institutionalized in facilities or separated from their parents, the absence of family-based care can result in lifelong consequences (UNICEF, 2024). Thanks to researchers in neuroscience and psychology, we have evidence suggesting what these consequences might be. Various studies demonstrate that children deprived of family care and enriching environments experience distinct neurodevelopmental and mental health challenges (Mackes et al., 2020). Many of these children studied are raised in orphanages or similar institutions, yet reports indicate that young people detained by ICE may endure even more severe conditions. For example, PBS News described a Texas detention facility where migrant children were “essentially warehoused, as many as 300 children in a cell, with almost no adult supervision” (PBS News Hour, 2019).
Although regulations prohibit holding children in migrant facilities for more than 20 days, multiple reports have documented cases in which hundreds of children were detained for up to 168 days, averaging 5.5 months (Al Jazeera, 2025). This duration is particularly concerning, as research regarding deprivation-related adversity suggests that its detrimental effects are linked to a sensitive developmental window of approximately 6 months (Edwards et al., 2024). While the full impact of ICE detention on children’s brain development remains under investigation, existing evidence indicates that deprivation increases the risk of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and difficulties achieving independence in adulthood, including financial instability and unemployment (Sonuga-Barke et al., 2017).
The Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP)
The Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP) provides a compelling example of the experiences of institutionalized children, including those held in migrant detention facilities. Supported by two decades of longitudinal data, the BEIP offers critical insights into the effects of deprivation on neurodevelopment. The BEIP researchers followed 136 Romanian orphans since the early 2000s to examine the neurodevelopmental outcomes among children who remained institutionalized compared to those adopted into families. The project uses electroencephalography (EEG) to scan participants’ brains and conducts interviews to assess mental health as they transition into young adulthood. What’s helpful is that this dataset is frequently used by other researchers because it has been collected over such a long period. For example, Margaret Sheridan and her colleagues used the BEIP cohort to investigate the consequences of deprivation-related adversity (Sheridan et al., 2022). They compared the following:
children adopted before 24 months
children adopted after 24 months
and children who remained institutionalized
Brain scans from ages 9 and 16, as well as follow-up scans at 16, were analyzed to determine potentially permanent outcomes. Each group was also compared with UK children raised in their biological families. These scans assessed the entire brain, with particular focus on the cerebral cortex (the outermost layer of the brain), grey matter volume (which contains most of the brain’s cell bodies), white matter integrity (the health of white matter), and subcortical volume (the sizes of the structures inside the cerebral cortex).
So, what did they find?
Well, without surprise, children who remained institutionalized had profound neurodevelopmental problems, as their brains did not reflect patterns consistent with typical development. Additionally, those adopted after 24 months revealed neurodevelopmental problems with little improvement by age 16, whereas those adopted before 24 months showed significant improvement! This is important to emphasize because these results demonstrate that family-based care is integral to a human's healthy development. Another important point to discuss from Sheridan’s study is their results regarding white matter. Picture white matter as a substance in the brain that allows it to engage in higher-level cognitive processes. With that in mind, children who remained institutionalized had poor white matter integrity, which meant they were more susceptible to developing problems with executive functioning. This further illustrates why institutionalized children are more likely to experience cognitive issues and negative life trajectories.
The English and Romanian Adoptee (ERA) Project
The English and Romanian Adoptee (ERA) is another project led by researchers exploring institutionalization and deprivation. Arranged by researchers from my current university, King’s College London (KCL), they also examined Romanian orphans and obtained results similar to those of the BEIP. For example, researcher Christopher Edwards and his colleagues compared children institutionalized for more than 6 months and less than 6 months with children in the UK raised by their families, along with in-home interviews with adoptees and their parents (Sonuga-Barke et al., 2017). Similar to the BEIP cohort, where institutionalized children exhibited cognitive issues, the ERA sample exposed to deprivation for more than 6 months showed traits resembling attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism. These traits are referred to as “quasi adhd” and “quasi autism’ because they exhibit very similar traits to those diagnosed with these conditions. The main difference is that ADHD and autism are neurodevelopmental conditions, and are often driven by genetic factors. However, these children seem to exhibit these ‘quasi’ traits solely due to environmental factors, as if the environment can induce neurodevelopmental consequences at a very specific time period of around 6 months.
Even more shockingly, a group of researchers at KCL conducted a follow-up study of the ERA participants in young adulthood to examine how deprivation affected their lives. Those who were adopted before 6 months didn’t experience persistent symptoms, however, those who remained institutionalized longer than 6 months exhibited much difficulty (Edwards et al., 2024). To make matters worse, these impacts led to their struggles in independent living, making financial decisions, disengagement with treatment, and vulnerability to victimization and abusive relationships.
So, given the well-documented consequences of deprivation, it is critical to question why ICE is permitted to detain children in such inhumane conditions. Even further, these practices provoke serious concerns regarding the decisions of current government leaders. Policymakers must consider the consequences of increased substance abuse, unemployment, and reliance on social services, which result in substantial economic costs and, more importantly, the loss of vulnerable lives. These policies seem to undermine the potential for these children to achieve a good quality of life, while simultaneously attributing societal problems to them despite the adversity they face.
Americans are Fighting Back
In 2026, several reports documented ICE exploiting children to lure the kidnapping of their parents, such as 5-year-old Liam Ramos and his father. ICE has also terrorized elementary schools in Chicago and swept up children from graduation ceremonies in Massachusetts, New York City, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Georgia, many of whom were days away from receiving asylum eligibility. These draconian measures have led families to skip graduation ceremonies, while many high school students across the country have organized walkouts to show solidarity.
The bottom line is that children deserve dignity and safety and should not have to miss out on education or pivotal moments because of poor policy. No child should endure life without the support and nurturance of their families. Even further, racially profiling innocent Americans, kidnapping US citizens and legal residents with green cards, avoiding lawful parameters such as due process or signed judicial warrants, and murdering legal observers are all unconstitutional and abhorrent actions.
I am calling on science communicators and researchers to take a stand and address the situation. Your contribution matters, and your voice can influence social and public policy. Now more than ever, use your voice, education, and training to serve our community members.
Let this be the wake-up call we all need.
References:
Edwards, C., Kennedy, M., Knights, N., Kovshoff, H., Kreppner, J., Maughan, B., & Sonuga-Barke, E. (2024a). Neurodevelopmental problems in adulthood following severe early deprivation: A qualitative analysis of clinical needs and service user experiences. Adoption & Fostering Journal/Adoption & Fostering, 48(1), 106–125. https://doi.org/10.1177/03085759231212497
“In Focus: Ending the Institutionalization of Children and Keeping Families Together.” Unicef.org, 11 Nov. 2024, www.unicef.org/eca/reports/focus-ending-institutionalization-children-and-keeping-families-together.
Jazeera, A. (2025a, December 10). US authorities acknowledge immigrant children held beyond court-set limit. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/10/us-authorities-acknowledge-immigrant-children-held-beyond-court-set-limit
Mackes, N. K., Golm, D., Sarkar, S., Kumsta, R., Rutter, M., Fairchild, G., Mehta, M. A., Sonuga-Barke, E. J. S., & ERA Young Adult Follow-up team (2020). Early childhood deprivation is associated with alterations in adult brain structure despite subsequent environmental enrichment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117(1), 641–649. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1911264116
PBS News Hour. (2019a, June 21). A firsthand report of “inhumane conditions” at a migrant children’s detention facility. PBS NewsHour; PBS NewsHour. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-firsthand-report-of-inhumane-conditions-at-a-migrant-childrens-detention-facility
Sheridan, M. A., Mukerji, C. E., Wade, M., Humphreys, K. L., Garrisi, K., Goel, S., Patel, K., Fox, N. A., Zeanah, C. H., Nelson, C. A., & McLaughlin, K. A. (2022a). Early deprivation alters structural brain development from middle childhood to adolescence. Science Advances, 8(40). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abn4316
Sonuga-Barke, E. J. S., Kennedy, M., Kumsta, R., Knights, N., Golm, D., Rutter, M., Maughan, B., Schlotz, W., & Kreppner, J. (2017a). Child-to-adult neurodevelopmental and mental health trajectories after early life deprivation: the young adult follow-up of the longitudinal English and Romanian Adoptees study. The Lancet, 389(10078), 1539–1548. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(17)30045-4