SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama is seeing a sharp increase in the arrest and detention of immigrant children as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts, according to newly released federal data.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained nearly 70 children in Alabama between September 2023 and September 2025, averaging about four children per month in 2025, records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show. The number of children detained rose 120 percent during the 12-month period ending in September 2025 compared to the previous year. The youngest child detained was a two-year-old boy from Mexico arrested in November 2023.
Nationally, at least 3,800 children under 18 have been booked into ICE custody since President Trump took office, including infants, according to The Marshall Project.
“These are children that have left everything behind in search of safety,” said Allison Hamilton of the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice. “To put them in jail and deny them a fair chance to make their case is deeply troubling.”
ICE did not respond to a request for comment.
Child advocacy attorneys say prolonged detention can be especially harmful to minors. “Secure or medium-secure detention for long periods disrupts development, education, and emotional stability,” said Becky Wolozin of the National Center for Youth Law.
None of the children detained in Alabama were convicted of crimes, though 97 percent had pending charges. At least 10 have been deported. Most were boys from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Jamaica, with Baldwin County reporting the highest number of detentions.
Advocates warn the surge is fracturing families and deepening fear in immigrant communities.
