ICE issued the Directive 11064.4, Detention and Removal of Alien Parents and Legal Guardians of Minor Children on July 2, 2025. It is ICE policy to ensure that the agency’s enforcement actions do not unnecessarily infringe upon the legal parental or guardianship rights and obligations of Covered Individuals. Covered Individuals is defined as alien parents or legal guardians who are: (1) primary caretakers of minor child(ren) in the United States; and/or (2) those who have a direct interest in family or probate court, guardianship, or child welfare proceedings involving a minor child.
ICE will continue to take a consistent and unified approach to:
- Identify Covered Individuals;
- Carry out necessary and appropriate enforcement actions involving Covered Individuals;
- Facilitate participation in family court, child welfare, or guardianship proceedings, and access to child welfare services and programs by detained Covered Individuals;
- Follow visitation procedures in detention; and
- Properly document all aspects of detention and removal of Covered Individuals.
Read the Fact Sheet for Child Welfare Stakeholders
Read the Flyer: Facilitating Visits between Parents in ICE Custody & Minor Children
No Private Right Statement
While this overview of the Parental Interests Directive addresses its effect on certain parents and legal guardians, the Directive provides only internal ICE policy guidance, which may be modified, rescinded, or superseded at any time without notice. It is not intended to, does not, and may not be relied upon to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by any party in any administrative, civil, or criminal matter. Likewise, no limitations are placed by this guidance on the otherwise lawful enforcement or litigative prerogatives of ICE.
Contact Us
Anyone may contact ICE on matters involving detained parents. Potential inquirers may include, but are not limited to: detained parents or legal guardians of minor children in the United States, family or child dependency court officials, child welfare case workers or other child welfare authorities, immigration attorneys, family law attorneys, and other child welfare or immigration advocates.
- Contact your local Community Relations Officer if you have inquiries relating to this Directive.
- For case inquiries involving child protective services, family court or child welfare proceedings, you may send a parental interests inquiry directly via the secure ERO Contact Form. Please select “Parental Interests” in Type of Inquiry to have it routed to the HQ ERO Parental Interests team.
- For information regarding how to contact a detained parent or the detained parent’s deportation officer, you may reach out to the ERO field office where the parent is detained. The Online Detainee Locator System may provide the location where the parent is detained.
- If you are an attorney, visit Attorney Information and Resources for additional information.
You may also contact ICE Headquarters by calling the ICE Detention Reporting and Information Line at 1-888-351-4024 during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday. Note: State that your request is a "Parental Interests Inquiry." Bilingual (English/Spanish) operators are available. If necessary, interpretation services are also available to communicate with individuals in other languages.