A new report highlights how President Trump’s mass deportation agenda threatens the already fragile U.S. childcare system, potentially leaving families without essential care and disrupting the workforce.
Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2025 — A recent report from the American Immigration Council warns that the U.S. childcare system, already strained by rising costs, staffing shortages, and high demand, is facing catastrophic disruption due to President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. The report emphasizes that the loss of even a small portion of the childcare workforce could leave families without 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, with even higher concentrations 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 features in-depth profiles of ten childcare providers and parents whose livelihoods and family stability are already being impacted 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 increased enforcement has already disrupted childcare availability in various communities. For instance, a daycare center in South Philadelphia, which primarily serves low-income immigrant families, saw enrollment drop from 158 children to 97 following enforcement actions, resulting in layoffs and classroom closures. Similarly, at a preschool in Washington, D.C., teachers were forced to resign due to new barriers to maintaining work authorization.
Key findings from the report indicate that 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 over two-thirds of childcare workers, while in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, they represent nearly half of the workforce. Staffing shortages are already critical, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting that 160,200 childcare jobs will open each year over the next decade due to turnover.
Moreover, immigrant childcare workers are 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 highlights that aggressive immigration enforcement has 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, illustrating the potential consequences of a tightening 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.”
Disruptions to the U.S. childcare system resulting from Trump’s immigration policies will not only affect 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—41.9 percent of those households—had at least one adult whose job was impacted due to loss of access to childcare. This includes 2.5 million households that utilized unpaid leave, 2 million that reduced work hours, 1.3 million that had adults who stopped looking for jobs, and over 600,000 households where adults 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 further details, the full report can be accessed through the American Immigration Council’s website.