Today, we speak out because the children we serve are in crisis.
What We Are Witnessing
Across the country, young children are being harmed by immigration enforcement actions. They are being detained in federal custody. They are witnessing armed agents conduct raids at their schools, childcares, and homes. They are watching their parents taken away without warning. They are being left behind when caregivers are detained and deported.
In Minnesota, children as young as 2 and 5 have been detained with their parents during routine activities like returning home from preschool or the grocery store. Schools have gone into lockdown, students and educators have been pepper-sprayed, and early childhood teachers have been arrested outside their classrooms. Nationally, more than 3,800 children—including infants—have been booked into immigration detention within the last year, with more than 100 children documented as stranded without parents due to enforcement actions, although the true number is almost certainly higher.
These are not abstractions. These are the children in our programs, in our families, in our communities.
What Child Development Science Tells Us
The science of early childhood development is unambiguous: early experiences shape children’s brains, health, and futures. Toxic stress—the prolonged activation of stress response systems in the absence of protective relationships—disrupts brain architecture, impairs learning, and increases lifelong chronic disease risk. Sudden separation from a primary caregiver is one of the most significant sources of toxic stress a young child can experience.
Children do not need to be directly impacted to be harmed. Living in a climate of fear—where a parent might not come home, where armed agents might appear at school—creates the conditions for chronic stress that undermines healthy development. Children cannot learn or thrive when they do not feel safe.
What We Are Calling For
We call on federal, state, and local officials to implement immediate protections for children:
- Protect schools and childcare settings. Schools and early learning programs must remain safe spaces where children can learn without fear. Enforcement actions should not occur at or near schools, childcare programs, and other sensitive locations
- Do not detain children. Young children should never be held in immigration detention facilities. The documented conditions in these facilities—inadequate nutrition, limited medical care, lack of age-appropriate activities—are incompatible with healthy child development.
- Do not use children in enforcement operations. Reports of children being used to draw family members from their homes are deeply troubling. Children must never be used as tools in enforcement actions.
- Ensure children’s caregiving needs supersede any enforcement action. No child should be left without a safe, known caregiver.
- Provide trauma-informed support for affected children and communities. Federal and state resources must be made available to support mental health services for children who have experienced or witnessed enforcement actions, and for the educators and communities who support them.
To Our Members and the Early Childhood Community
We know that early childhood educators are on the front lines of this crisis. You are caring for children who are frightened. You are supporting families who are terrified. You are trying to create safe and nurturing classrooms in circumstances that feel anything but safe.
We see you. We stand with you.
NAEYC is committed to providing resources to support you and the children in your care.
We encourage educators to continue creating learning environments where every child feels seen, valued, and safe. Maintain routines. Validate children’s feelings without amplifying their fears. Know that your steady, caring presence matters more than ever.
Our Commitment
Every child deserves safety, stability, and the opportunity to learn and grow. Every child deserves adults who will protect their right to a healthy childhood. This is not a partisan position. It is the foundation of our work and the reason our organization has existed for 100 years.
We will continue to speak clearly about what child development science tells us. We will continue to advocate for policies that protect children. We will continue to support the educators and families who nurture young children every day.
The wellbeing of children is not negotiable.
Michelle Kang, Chief Executive Officer
Tonia Durden, Governing Board President
