A new report highlights the potential catastrophic impact of President Trump’s mass deportation agenda on the already strained U.S. childcare system.
A recent report from the American Immigration Council warns that the U.S. childcare system, which is already grappling with rising costs, staffing shortages, and high demand, is at risk of catastrophic disruption due to President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. The report emphasizes that even a small loss of the childcare workforce could leave families without adequate coverage and hinder their ability to work.
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 or loss of work authorization.
In addition to statistical analysis, the report includes in-depth profiles of ten childcare providers and parents whose livelihoods and family stability are being threatened by enforcement crackdowns and visa uncertainties.
“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,” said Jeremy Robbins, executive director of the American Immigration Council. “Mass deportation pulls that foundation out from under families and jeopardizes parents’ ability to stay in the labor force.”
The report documents how intensified enforcement has already disrupted childcare availability in various communities. For instance, in South Philadelphia, a daycare center that primarily serves low-income immigrant families saw its enrollment drop from 158 children to 97 following enforcement actions, leading to layoffs and classroom closures. Similarly, at a preschool in Washington, D.C., teachers were compelled to resign due to new barriers affecting their work authorization.
Among the report’s key findings is that 20.1 percent of childcare workers are immigrants, totaling over 282,000 individuals, predominantly women. In cities like San Jose and Miami, immigrants represent over two-thirds of childcare workers, while in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, they account for nearly half.
Staffing shortages in the childcare sector are already severe. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that 160,200 childcare jobs will open each year over the next decade due to turnover. Immigrant childcare workers are more likely to be self-employed and work full-time, filling roles that have proven difficult to staff with U.S.-born workers.
Aggressive immigration enforcement has already led to closures, empty classrooms, and absenteeism in daycare centers across some communities. The report includes testimonies from ten individuals, including childcare providers and parents, detailing the potential consequences of further tightening in the childcare system due to mass raids and increased visa restrictions. One mother in New York City, 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 disruptions to the U.S. childcare system resulting from Trump’s immigration policies will not only impact individual households but also the broader labor market. According to U.S. census data analyzed in the report, in 2025, 12.8 million households with children under the age of 14, or 41.9 percent of those households, had at least one adult whose job was affected after losing access to childcare. This includes 2.5 million households that took unpaid leave, 2 million that reduced work hours, 1.3 million that did not seek employment, and over 600,000 that quit their jobs.
“From hospitals to retail to tech, U.S. employers depend on parents being able to work,” said Nan Wu, director of research at the American Immigration Council. “Removing the workers who make childcare possible would choke off workforce participation and weaken our economy at a time when it’s already struggling.”
For more information, the full report is available for review.
According to American Immigration Council.