A new report highlights the potential impact of President Trump’s mass deportation agenda on the already strained U.S. childcare system, warning of significant disruptions for families and the economy.
Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2025 — A recent report from the American Immigration Council raises alarms about the U.S. childcare system, which is already grappling with rising costs, staffing shortages, and high demand. The report warns that President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda could lead to catastrophic disruptions, threatening the stability of families who rely on childcare services.
The report, titled Immigrant Workers and the Childcare Crisis: What’s at Stake for Families and the Economy, reveals that immigrant workers constitute one in five childcare workers nationwide. This percentage is even higher in major metropolitan areas such as Miami and San Jose. Notably, more than half of these workers are non-citizens, and nearly a third are undocumented, making them particularly vulnerable to deportation and loss of work authorization.
In addition to statistical insights, the report features detailed profiles of ten childcare providers and parents whose lives are already being disrupted by enforcement crackdowns and visa uncertainties. Jeremy Robbins, executive director of the American Immigration Council, emphasized the critical role that immigrant workers play in the childcare sector. “Working parents already feel the strain of a childcare system that’s barely holding together. Parents can’t clock in if they don’t have safe, stable childcare, and immigrants play a key role in providing that,” he stated. “Mass deportation pulls that foundation out from under families and jeopardizes parents’ ability to stay in the labor force.”
The report documents real-world consequences of increased immigration enforcement on childcare availability. For instance, a daycare center in south Philadelphia, which primarily serves low-income immigrant families, saw its enrollment drop from 158 children to just 97 following enforcement actions. This decline forced the center to lay off staff and close classrooms. Similarly, a preschool in Washington, D.C., experienced teacher resignations due to new barriers affecting work authorization.
Among the report’s key findings are several alarming statistics regarding the childcare workforce. Approximately 20.1 percent of childcare workers are immigrants, totaling over 282,000 individuals, predominantly women. In cities like San Jose and Miami, immigrants account for more than two-thirds of childcare workers, while in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, they make up nearly half of the workforce.
Staffing shortages in the childcare sector are already severe. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that 160,200 childcare jobs will open each year over the next decade due to turnover. Immigrant childcare workers are often more likely to be self-employed and work full-time, filling positions that have proven difficult to staff with U.S.-born workers.
The report also highlights that aggressive immigration enforcement has led to closures, empty classrooms, and increased absenteeism in daycare centers across various communities. Testimonies from individuals featured in the report illustrate the personal toll of these disruptions. One New York City mother, identified as ‘Jen,’ expressed her concerns: “I want to be productive. I want to be part of the workforce. As things ratchet up, there’s always a little voice in my head, ‘Please, please don’t revoke visas.’ But if my au pair goes, then I would have to quit my job.”
The implications of these disruptions extend beyond individual households; they threaten the broader labor market as well. According to U.S. census data analyzed in the report, in 2025, approximately 12.8 million households with children under the age of 14—41.9 percent of such households—had at least one adult whose job was affected due to the loss of childcare access. This includes 2.5 million households that took unpaid leave, 2 million that reduced work hours, 1.3 million that had adults who stopped looking for work, and over 600,000 households where adults quit their jobs.
Nan Wu, director of research at the American Immigration Council, underscored the broader economic ramifications of the childcare crisis. “From hospitals to retail to tech, U.S. employers depend on parents being able to work,” she noted. “Removing the workers who make childcare possible would choke off workforce participation and weaken our economy at a time when it’s already struggling.”
As the report illustrates, the intersection of immigration policy and childcare availability poses significant challenges for families and the economy alike, raising urgent questions about the future of the U.S. workforce.
For more information, you can access the full report from the American Immigration Council.