Giving Compass' Take:

• Mattie Quinn reports that as the Trump administration ramps up immigrant detentions and deportations, two states created policies to keep the children left behind out of foster care. 

• Are these policies sufficient to cope with the influx of children separated from their parents and guardians? What other support do these children need? 

• Learn more about diverting children from the foster care system. 

Since Donald Trump became president, immigration arrests have quadrupled, placing hundreds of thousands of immigrants at risk of deportation and separating tens of thousands of children from their parents. On an average day, there are 44,000 immigrants being held in federal custody, which Vox reports is an all-time high up from the pre-Trump record of 34,000.

As of November 2018, 14,000 immigrant kids were in government custody without their parents -- another record high. To keep more of these kids from falling into federal care or foster care, lawmakers in two states have expanded emergency guardianship laws. And despite the divisive nature of immigration policy, the legislation has attracted bipartisan support.

"Right now, there are so many unknowns for Dreamers, DACA recipients, people with TPS," says Carlo Sanchez, a son of El Salvadoran immigrants who co-sponsored the bill in Maryland. "We have a responsibility to talk about what happens when those people go away."

The legislation allows immigrants who fear they are at risk of deportation to assign a "standby guardian" for their children or dependents. If a parent is deported or arrested, their children can legally stay with that person.

Read the full article about keeping immigrant children out of foster care by Mattie Quinn at Governing Magazine.