‘We are all targets.’ What happens to children whose parents are detained by ICE in Fresno County?

Around last November’s election, Nora Zaragoza-Yáñez and her husband worried about what would happen if they were detained by immigration enforcement officers and no one could care for their 6-year-old son. 

Zaragoza-Yáñez said their concern stems from intensified racial profiling from immigration enforcement across the U.S. and from their own frontline work in immigration advocacy. 

They began having conversations about a family preparedness plan, a set of actions and documents to ensure a family’s safety and well-being during an emergency, such as deportations.

“The current political climate has shown that people are being racially profiled and are up for grabs,” Zaragoza-Yáñez said. “It’s a scary thought where you’re racially profiled, taken abruptly, and violently by masked thugs.”

They specifically have a Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit in place, a California legal form that allows a person, who is not the parent or legal guardian, to make temporary decisions for a minor child in their care.

A recent California law, called the Family Preparedness Act of 2025 (AB 495) makes it easier for families, particularly those with a risk of separation due to immigration enforcement, to have a Caregiver Authorization Affidavit to create a plan for child care.

Under their plan, Zaragoza-Yáñez’s parents would take in their son first. If they ever became unable to care for him, her siblings would step in and alternate responsibility.

“I highly encourage everyone to prepare for things that are in your control,” Zaragoza-Yáñez said. “It’s important for immigration advocates or attorneys or forward-facing people who offer these services to have one, we are all targets.”

What are the different options available for family preparedness plans?

As a program manager with Faith in the Valley’s Valley Watch Network, Zaragoza-Yáñez conducts English and Spanish presentations on family preparedness planning, helping parents think ahead about who will care for their children if they are detained or deported.

She advises parents to keep emergency contacts updated at their children’s schools and to ensure those contacts are people they trust so children don’t end up “in limbo.”

She explained that a family preparedness plan can take several forms, including a verbal agreement with a potential caregiver, a caregiver’s affidavit, or establishing legal guardianship.

Families are encouraged to formally designate a caregiver by completing a caregiver’s affidavit, as it gives that person legal authority to make certain medical and school-related decisions.

She noted that California’s recent law expands who can serve as an authorized caregiver to include trusted neighbors or friends, which benefits families without relatives nearby. 

The law also increases privacy safeguards in schools and childcare settings by limiting the collection or sharing of immigration-related information and requiring updated state guidance on handling immigration enforcement.

Zaragoza-Yáñez said the affidavit helps preserve parental rights and offers options if a parent is deported—whether they want their children reunited with them abroad or to remain in the U.S. under a permanent arrangement. In those situations, Faith in the Valley connects families with family law attorneys who can help establish guardianship or other legal protections.

For families seeking guidance, Zaragoza-Yáñez recommends the Immigrant Legal Resource Center’s planning guide, which outlines childcare options, important documents to gather, emergency contact information, and checklists to organize medical, educational, and identification records. She also urges parents to keep their children’s school records updated with their chosen caregiver and preparedness plans.

Pricilla Ramos, project manager for advocacy and community organizing at the Education and Leadership Foundation, said concerns about enforcement have long been present in Fresno and surface frequently in conversations with schools and district leaders. 

She said the first step is having difficult conversations with families about the possibility of separation which includes preparing essential documents and speaking with legal service providers to understand possible immigration options. 

While organizations can provide basic templates, Ramos said the strength of a family preparedness plan comes from tailoring it to each family’s circumstances, since “not every family is a one-size-fits-all.”

She added that there are also guides explaining what to do if immigration enforcement knocks on the door, how to respond when shown a warrant, what steps to take if detained, and which documents to store securely.

What happens if both parents are detained and there’s not a trusted adult to care for their child in Fresno County?

When a parent in Fresno County is detained by immigration authorities, the county’s child welfare system is not automatically involved, said Kim Smith, deputy director of Child Welfare at Fresno County Department of Social Services.

Their involvement begins when a call comes into the care line, known as the county’s Child Protected Services hotline. Each call is screened based on the information provided, and staff may offer guidance or resources. If the report includes allegations of abuse, neglect, or a caretaker’s absence, it can trigger an investigation.

In those situations, a social worker evaluates whether a parent’s detention has left a child without someone to care for them. The aim, Smith said, is to follow whatever preparedness plan the family already has in place, such as arranging for a relative to care for the child.

Smith said Fresno County is already largely aligned with the intent of California’s new AB 495, since the county’s approach prioritizes keeping families together. 

When a child comes to the county’s attention and a caretaker is missing, staff first look to create a plan at the most basic level with relatives. The county already helps families develop care plans and works with 13 Neighborhood Resource Centers to ensure they can access support.

“It will reduce the need for child welfare involvement by expanding caregiver authorization,” Smith said. “It gives families access and encourages parents to identify trusted caregivers and make proactive plans that preserve family connections.”

If no relatives or close family friends can be identified, the county places children in approved resource family homes, supervised by the child-welfare agency and operated by a qualifying “resource family,” and then works with those homes to offer children stability.

Maintaining educational and emotional stability, Smith added, is key to minimizing trauma. The department partners with local education agencies, probation, behavioral health, and regional centers to ensure that children can stay in their schools and communities.

“Keeping a kid connected to community, school, and family helps with their mental wellness,” Smith said. “Our number one goal is to prevent children from entering care whenever possible and to maintain family connections.”

Jennifer Podkul, chief of global policy and advocacy at Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), said the organization sees a growing number of children enter deportation proceedings on their own, either after being apprehended at the border or picked up within the U.S. Once detained, they’re classified as “unaccompanied minors” and given individual deportation cases, a process that often takes years.

After apprehension, Podkul explained, children are sent to federal shelters while the government searches for an adult sponsor, typically a parent, relative, or family friend, who agrees to care for them during their case. Once placed with a caregiver, KIND provides legal assistance and social services, including access to food, clothing, and mental health support, especially given the trauma many children have experienced. 

The new California law helps mixed-status families plan for emergencies, but Podkul emphasized that children already in proceedings are facing fast-changing federal policies. 

She described policies shifting daily, from President Donald Trump’s administration offering $2,500 to some unaccompanied minors to “voluntarily” self-deport to tightening legal access and renewing detention. ICE has increasingly detained children following routine hearings or incidental enforcement encounters and transferred them to government shelters, resulting in about 600 detentions so far this year, according to reporting by Propublica.

Increasingly, KIND’s Fresno office is seeing children who were already living with family being redetained and kept in federal custody until deportation, a shift she described as a “path of exit” rather than a path to protection. This constant flux, Podkul said, has fueled confusion nationwide about how to support immigrant children. 

“Every day there’s something new,” Podkul said. “One day we get an email saying there’s a new directive: now we’re offering kids money if they go back; now we’re taking away their lawyers; now we’re putting them back in federal custody. It’s constant.”

For Podkul, the most urgent concern is the “gravity of the unknown.” Without centralized tracking, she said, no one knows how many children are being separated from their parents.

How does family separation affect a child’s mental health?

First Five Fresno County’s executive director Fabiola González and early childhood initiatives director Hannah Norman said the current climate of immigration enforcement has parents reconsidering school, child care, and other services to protect their children, which could compound early trauma. 

They emphasized that the first five years of life are critical: About 90% of a child’s brain develops during this period, and early trauma—like separation from a parent—can shift a child’s brain from learning to survival mode. 

Norman explained that children cannot comprehend the legal complexities of a parent’s detention, only the loss of a trusted caregiver, which can create trauma that carries into adulthood.

“We are trying to support all of the efforts that we know are wrapped around that child’s first five years, to make sure that they show up to school ready to learn, and anything that gets in the way of a safe, healthy environment,” González said.

They said that the organization focuses on filling gaps in early childhood care and promoting awareness of toxic stress, which can have lifelong mental and physical health effects. This includes investments in home visitation, parent-child programs, and other supports to mitigate the impacts of toxic stress and family separation.

Jason Williams, founder of Fresno-based Brain Wise Solutions, said his nonprofit focuses on training organizations to better serve families affected by trauma. His own organization grew out of his experience working in child protective services and local nonprofits, where he saw a critical need for trauma-informed practices.

For organizations serving immigrant communities, Williams said the training emphasizes how trauma can shape decision-making and relationships.

Brain Wise trains nonprofit staff to create safe, welcoming environments for clients before asking them to navigate complex systems, teaching how trauma from detention or family separation can put parents and children into survival mode. Workshops and ongoing support cover neuroscience, coping strategies, and practical approaches for working with clients under stress.

Williams said building and rebuilding trust is a central part of the training. Organizations are taught to follow through on promises, maintain consistency, and strengthen family and community ties, which can prevent children from entering foster care or unsafe situations. 

“The easiest way for organizations to do that is to avoid making empty promises and to keep the promises they do make—it can be as simple as showing up,” Williams said. “Many immigrant families already don’t trust institutions like the court system or the police, so whenever we say something and don’t follow through, it erodes trust that is already very difficult to maintain.”

Williams said his organization also advises staff on supporting bilingual and multilingual needs, recognizing that children are more likely to form trusting relationships when cared for in their native language.

Through this approach, Brain Wise Solutions equips nonprofits to serve immigrant families with compassion and understanding, helping children navigate trauma and supporting organizations in creating safer, more responsive environments.

Fresnoland’s practical guide on how families can prepare for potential separation is available here.