As a moral country, the US has always advocated for basic human rights, and especially the rights of children. Michigan’s Children believes all children – citizen and non-citizen-shuld be treated as we would want our own children treated were the tables turned.
In 2023, Michigan had an estimated 42,300 noncitizen children.¹ In 2025, there were about 800 unaccompanied minors in Michigan going through proceedings in immigration courts.² We also know that Michigan is home to many mixed-status families-where some family members are citizens and others are not. We are concerned about the trauma and lifelong impacts of immigration policy on young Americans.
We advocate for:
- Humane enforcement, including:
- No immigration enforcement in sensitive areas such as child care centers, schools, hospitals, etc.
- No child detention or family separation
- Access to legal aid and counsel for children
- Reasonable accommodations to allow immigrant parents to make safety plans for their citizen children before deportation
- Asylum options in cases where immigrants would face danger if repatriated
- Policies that maintain the health & safety for immigrant children and child citizens with immigrant parents
- Clear Public Charge rules clearly communicated and easily accessible.
- Michigan Can Enact Immigration Laws to Protect Our Children and Families From Dangerous Immigration Enforcement Excesses
As part of broader immigration enforcement policies, ICE has resumed the
practice of detaining families together, including children, infants, and toddlers. Families are held in detention facilities while awaiting decisions about deportation or protection status. Advocates and community organizations have raised serious concerns about the safety, wellbeing, and long-term impact of detention on children and families. Join Michigan’s Children and many other state and national organizations in calling for an end to child and family detention.
Send us (or your US congressperson) your paper doll by March 4th!
How to Participate
- Create Your Paper Doll. Using the template provided below, write messages of hope for an end to child and family detention, or just color your doll.
- Help Us Find Your U.S. Representative. Please write your first name or initials and your zip code – somewhere small at the bottom of the page.
- Get Your Doll To Your US Congressperson By March 4th!! Two ways to do this:
- Send Us A Picture & Let Us Do The Work! Email pictures to info@michiganschildren.org or text us at 517-485-3500 – we will package them up with other dolls and get them to US Congressional members’ offices. You can send us a picture of your doll only, or of you and your doll (but please be aware that pictures may be used on social media). If children are included in pictures please either blur their faces, or just take a picture like this one where their faces are mostly obscured →
- Mail Your Dolls Directly To Your Congressperson. Find your US representatives and their office addresses here. You can find a sample letter to go with your doll on the last page of this document.
- Consider Sharing on Social Media. If you do post: tag Michigan’s Children, your State Representatives, U.S. Representatives, and U.S. Senators. And please use campaign hashtag #FreeFamilies. Print your paper doll using this link.
Resources
- Up-to-date information on Public Charge rules from our partners, Protecting Immigrant Families: https://pifcoalition.org/pc
- Updates from the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, including Know Your Rights, how to locate detainees, and more: https://michiganimmigrant.org
- Preparing for immigration enforcement: https://bit.ly/MIRCKYR
- Prewritten letter to school superintendents on the rights of immigrant students: http://bit.ly/MIRCschools
- Call scripts for calls to local/city officials and state and US legislators: https://bit.ly/MIRCaction
- Prewritten letter to local law enforcement: http://bit.ly/MIRCpoliceletter
- American Civil Liberties of Michigan – know your rights resources: https://www.aclumich.org/issues/clone-immigrants-rights/
- Delegation of parental authority form: https://www.aclumich.org/app/uploads/drupal/sites/default/files/important_docs.pdf
- A guide to creating safe spaces in child care from the Center for Law and Social Policy: https://www.clasp.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2025_safespacesguide.pdf
- Protecting Our Students: What You Need to Know About the Rights of Immigrants and the Threat of Deportation from the National Immigration Law Center: https://www.nilc.org/resources/know-your-rights-immigrant-students-and-schools/
- Protecting Children in Schools Against Immigration Enforcement: What Schools and Parents Can Do from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center: https://www.ilrc.org/community-resources/protecting-children-schools-against-immigration-enforcement