The plans were revealed in the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition agreement document and have been widely welcomed by the children's sector.
The Children's Society is now calling on ministers to ensure that families stay together and that they are supported in the community rather than separated, with parents kept in detention and children placed in care.
The charity's policy adviser Camilla Engeset says that such a move would be "inhumane". She also says there's a strong financial argument against splitting families up. The charity estimates that it costs £130 a day to detain someone in an immigration centre.
Engeset said: "The cost mounts up to thousands of pounds over the average stay, when it would be far cheaper to keep families in this situation together and support them in the community."
She added that there is very little evidence to suggest that families would abscond if they were not detained in an immigration centre.
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