The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the UK Faculty of Public Health say the practice is "harmful" and "unacceptable".
Each year around 1,000 children are detained in immigration removal centres in the UK.
The children are members of families identified for enforced removal from Britain. They are detained indefinitely under administrative order without time limit and without judicial oversight.
Almost a third of children are detained for longer than a month.
Dr Rosalyn Proops, officer for child protection at the RCPCH, said: "We are very concerned about the health and welfare of children in immigration detention.
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