Pediatricians Demand the Release of Children Held by DHS in Detention Camps — Because Liam Conejo Ramos Was NOT the Only One

   Dear Fellow Concerned Citizens,  We are pediatric physicians. We care for children in clinics, emergency rooms, hospital wards, and intensive care units. Many of us are also parents. We are speaking out because detaining children in U.S. immigration custody causes predictable, severe, and lasting harm to their health — and it must end now. This is not political. This is about protecting the health and safety of children.   Children in immigration detention are not being held for crimes. Immigration violations are civil, administrative matters, similar to paperwork or visa disputes. Yet, children are being confined in detention facilities, exposed to trauma that pediatricians know can permanently alter brain development, mental health, and physical wellbeing. There is no benefit to detaining children. There is overwhelming evidence of harm. The medical evidence is clear. Peer-reviewed medical research consistently shows that children who experience immigration detention suffer: Post-traumatic stress symptoms in up to 100% of children studied Depression in nearly half to most detained children Anxiety disorders in up to 50% Developmental regression and delays, especially with prolonged detention Nutritional deficiencies and worsening of chronic medical conditions This is not speculative. As pediatricians, we recognize this immediately as toxic stress — the kind that increases the risk of lifelong mental illness, cardiovascular disease, immune dysfunction, and shortened life expectancy.

 Detention facilities increase medical harm.  Detention centers are congregate settings with overcrowding, poor ventilation, limited access to medical care, and inadequate sanitation. Recent measles outbreaks reported in family detention facilities, including Dilley, Texas, highlight the danger of detaining children in environments that amplify infectious disease risk. 
 No child’s health should be endangered to enforce an administrative process. Liam’s case proves detention is a choice, not a necessity.  A five-year-old child named Liam was recently released from immigration detention after physicians and concerned citizens raised alarms and the public demanded action. A federal judge ordered his release, criticizing the government’s approach as “ill-conceived and incompetently implemented” and warning that policies traumatizing children violate the rule of law. The Court made clear: Children are entitled to due process Executive-issued administrative warrants are not constitutionally sufficient Detention must not override basic human decency Detaining children is not required to manage immigration cases. This is a policy choice, and it is harming children. Our demand is urgent and simple: We call on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Congress to:  
Immediately release all children from immigration detention
 End the use of detention for children and families

  History will remember whether we upheld our duty to ALL the children.     In Service of Children's Health & Safety, 
 Lara Jones MD & Ashley M. Cozzo MD, FAAP             References  1. Immigration Detention of Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Physical and Mental Health Impacts. Sherif B, Hocking DC, Asghari-Jafarabadi M, et al. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 2025;:10.1007/s00787-025-02832-4. doi:10.1007/s00787-025-02832-4. 2. Mental Health of Children Held at a United States Immigration Detention Center. MacLean SA, Agyeman PO, Walther J, et al. Social Science & Medicine (1982). 2019;230:303-308. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.04.013.  3. Health of Children Who Experienced Australian Immigration Detention. Tosif S, Graham H, Kiang K, et al. PloS One. 2023;18(3):e0282798.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0282798. 4. The Impact of Immigration Detention on Mental Health: A Systematic Review. von Werthern M, Robjant K, Chui Z, et al. BMC Psychiatry. 2018;18(1):382. doi:10.1186/s12888-018-1945-y.  5. Mental Health Consequences of Detaining Children and Families Who Seek Asylum: A Scoping Review. Mares S. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 2021;30(10):1615-1639. doi:10.1007/s00787-020-01629-x.  6. Syndemic Vulnerability and the Right to Health. Willen SS, Knipper M, Abadía-Barrero CE, Davidovitch N. Lancet (London, England). 2017;389(10072):964-977. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30261-1. 

7. How Immigration Detention Harms Children: A Conceptual Framework to Inform Policy and Practice. Mares S, Ziersch A. Psychological Trauma : Theory, Research, Practice and Policy. 2024;16(Suppl 2):S367-S378. doi:10.1037/tra0001474. 8. Clinicians' Perceptions of the Health Status of Formerly Detained Immigrants. Hampton K, Mishori R, Griffin M, et al. BMC Public Health. 2022;22(1):575. doi:10.1186/s12889-022-12967- 9. Providing Care for Children in Immigrant Families. Linton JM, Green A. Pediatrics. 2019;144(3):e20192077. doi:10.1542/peds.2019-2077.  10. Social Determinants of Mental Health in Children and Youth. American Psychiatric Association (2022). 11. Childhood Trauma and the Enduring Consequences of Forcibly Separating Children From Parents at the United States Border. Teicher MH. BMC Medicine. 2018;16(1):146. doi:10.1186/s12916-018-1147-y. 12. Epidemiology of 3 Vaccine-Preventable Infectious Diseases Within US Immigration Detention Centers. Gupta R, Winslow D, Gupta R, Vermund SH. JAMA Network Open. 2025;8(10):e2544278.doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.44278.