ICE detention shatters preschooler's world as father flees to Mexico

ICE agents detained Miguel Carino in Los Angeles last September, separating him from his three-year-old son Carlos and wife Jazmin, a U.S. citizen. The child's behavior changed dramatically—he withdrew from preschool activities, wept frequently and started addressing adults as “Papi.” The family endured arduous five-hour trips twice a month to the Central Valley Annex detention center, where visits were brief and emotionally taxing.

After months of uncertainty, Miguel chose to self-deport to Tijuana and later relocated to Mexico City for work, leaving Carlos without face-to-face contact for three months. Mental-health specialists warn that such forced separations can undermine attachment and increase risks of anxiety, depression and trauma in children, especially among the roughly one-in-five California children in mixed-status families. The Carinos now depend on video and phone calls, while Jazmin balances extra cleaning jobs and hopes to eventually reunite the family. The case highlights broader concerns about immigration enforcement's impact on child development.