Donald Trump, the President-elect, has shared his plan to handle immigration by deporting entire families, even if some members are U.S. citizens. This approach is meant to prevent separating families where parents are undocumented, but their children are born in the U.S.

Trump stated that keeping families together is important, saying, “The only way you don’t break up the family is to keep them together and send them all back.” His proposal means U.S.-born children may need to leave with their undocumented parents, despite their legal citizenship.

This plan could impact millions of mixed-status families in the U.S., where some members have legal status while others do not. Immigration advocates and legal experts have raised concerns about how this would affect the rights of U.S.-born children and the emotional toll on families.

The debate highlights the challenges of balancing immigration enforcement with family unity and legal protections for U.S.-born children.